1oIII: Mirror
by silverscribbles
Summary: A haunted mirror brings them to a newly opened inn. Mai’s been dreaming of this case days before it even happened; the spirits are choosing her to haunt in particular. Do her powers have anything to do with it, or does it just come down to bad luck?
1. With this beginning

Warning: parts of this story may contain spoilers for the manga, novel or anime.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt and I am not profiting from this fanfiction. Any resemblance of this fanfiction to other works or people are purely coincidental.

_This is the third part of the series, _Vesta's Bonds. The first and second one can be found if you click on my username. Mirror _contains spoilers for the previous two segments of my story._

* * *

**Vesta's Bonds ****1oIII: ****Mirror**

**Chapter 1 With this beginning**

* * *

01 March

* * *

_Mirror, mirror on the wall_

_Who's the fairest of them all?_

_Come to look and we shall see_

_If you end up being dead like me_

Laughter.

That was the first thing Mai heard when she walked into the room.

Endless laughter; some of the voices were of children, some of males, some of females, but all in all, they were laughing. All of them.

Mai trailed through the hallway, walking slowly through the unfamiliar setting. She was in the perfect renaissance home; cream walls, wooden tinting, and a deep, red carpet that was clearly maintained regularly. There were doors literally everywhere and little numbers had been carved into the wood of them too. Mai looked a little further and saw that in a nearby window, it showed snow falling outside. Mai frowned. There shouldn't have been any snow since it was Early Spring already, so wherever she was, it was probably pretty far from home.

Mai kept going, her feet moving as though it had a mind of its own. Mai walked and walked and eventually, she reached the staircases and descended. When she got to the bottom floor, her body automatically moved towards the mirror encased into the wall by the formal room, just like it had every other night.

Mai didn't need to look around to know that the house was empty; other than herself, the only other life form was the people in the mirror.

There were three children in there, their reflection moving but no sign of life was around at all. The first time Mai had seen them, she had thought that the mirror was actually a door. As usual, they were all of them sitting by the doll house that contained small little dolls. Mai frowned and she knelt down to their level. She looked further into the mirror, and then the closest little girl to her looked up and smiled.

The closest child to her looked up, clearly seeing Mai outside the mirror as wasly as Mai saw her.

"Come play with us, Mai."

The child reached out to Mai, and her fingers actually slipped through the layer of the mirror, only to stop in front of Mai's face. Something seemed to stop the child's fingers from moving forward, just as it had the nights before.

"Come, Mai. Come and play."

* * *

Mai shot up in her bed, gasping.

The brightness of the sun caused her to flinch slightly and Mai ignored it, her eyes habitually scanning the room now in case she had another unwanted guest. To her relief, the room was completely empty and Mai let out a relieved sigh. She'd been having the same dream for almost a week now, as soon as she'd gotten back from the case as Karakura High School. Every night, she'd walk through that same corridor; end up at that same mirror, only to wake up seconds later.

To say that the dream was starting to bother her definitely was not a lie. Mai shook her head. Sleep was scarce for her already, and whenever she did manage to doze off for a little while, something like this happened. And to make matters worse, she'd always get to work—

Work. Mai's eyes skimmed quickly to the alarm set by her bedside table.

Oh, _grand_.

She was going to be late again.

* * *

Mai bolted into the office and almost killed herself as she tripped on the third step getting into the office.

Lin-san, who seemed to be opening the door at the time, caught her before she fell back. Mai didn't stop to panic over her fall after the senior assistant had caught her and quickly moved into the office while hastily thanking him.

Mai felt like dying by the time she'd sunk down at her desk. Somehow, she'd managed only to be fifteen minutes late. Unfortunately, she'd probably need about half an hour to regain her breath.

"Mai. Tea."

And of course Naru had to call out to her now. Mai stood up, ignoring her protesting muscles, and moved towards the kitchen. She was pulling the pot out of the cupboard when she felt someone standing there with her.

Naru stood at the doorway. "That's the third time this week, Mai."

Mai nodded, moving quickly through the kitchen to arrange the tea. Just as she'd suspected, they hadn't touched anything in there, and the water need to be boiled. He just stood against the doorframe, watching her.

"I know, I know," she said, "and I'm really sorry."

"Wake up earlier then if you're sorry," Naru told her.

Just getting to sleep lately had been a problem for her, but Mai nodded absently, now shifting some of the tea into the pot. Despite what had happened, Mai couldn't help but find his presence here disconcerting. It was unusual for him to seek her out in the kitchen, even if she had been continuously late during the past week.

Then, she realised that his eyes were on her arm.

Mai's eye widened in alarm and she realised that she'd worn a shorter sleeved shirt today in her rush. Of course the edge of the burn would be showing, and she (being a coward) hadn't told him about the small gift Mimisaki Raidon, an acquaintance of Mai's cousin, had left her when they'd met about a week and a half back. Naru had been there too, but because he'd been in such a bad mood, Mai hadn't quite had the courage to tell him about the tattoo. Besides, it had been her problem, so she hadn't wanted to bother him about it.

"So has there been anyone coming in this morning?" Mai asked, hasty to change the subject. Naru tore his eyes from her arm and turned to look up at her, his gesture reminding her very much of a lord intimidating an inferior.

"Not yet," Naru said. "But we do have an appointment booked in about half an hour. You should be there too."

Mai frowned, now confused. He'd never invited her to a meeting with a client before. What suddenly invoked this behaviour?

"Why?"

He looked towards the main office slightly before shifting his gaze back to her. Mai watched him, as usual, oblivious of what he was thinking.

"The meeting was set up by your cousin."

Mai felt her heart sink for the second time that morning.

A meeting. Set up by Ayami with Naru.

Oh boy.

"Ayami didn't tell me she was in Japan," Mai said blankly.

"It's a webcam meeting," Naru said. He didn't seem at all happy about the meeting, which pegged Mai as to why he bothered accepting it in the first place. Normally, when he disliked something, he'd just not heed to it.

She didn't ask him though and instead handed him the tray of tea and cup. Naru took it from her and left her on her own.

Half an hour itched by as Mai sat by her desk, patiently waiting. Normally, she'd have paperwork to file or cleaning to do, but all of that had been done yesterday already so now she just sat at her desk catching dust. She would have taken a stab at her homework, but with Ayami's call coming up, she couldn't concentrate enough to do it.

Normally, a case wouldn't have worried her so much, but because it was Ayami, Mai found herself gratuitously fretting. Considering how their last case had gone with Ayami, Mai didn't think she was overreacting at all. Ayami was probably capable of doing the case herself; why did she call Naru at all?

Mai was tempted to call her cousin herself and ask Ayami why she was meeting with Naru when Lin-san finally called her into Naru's office for the meeting.

Mai trod into the room slowly, almost warily, and she took her spot on Naru's left. Lin-san moved back to his desk and started typing away on his keyboard again. Mai looked up at the monitor to see that the network was established and the window expanded to full screen. Immediately, Mai was greeted by the sight of her cousin's face.

It had been about a month since Mai had seen her cousin face to face, and even before that, they'd only had about a week's reunion. The sight of the girl now smiling warmed Mai considerably. Domjouji Ayami was a blue-blooded psychic who was head of one of the most powerful psychic families in the world. Literally the epitome of physical perfection, the only difference Mai noted in Ayami now, in contrast to her a month ago, was her physical attire, which while still elegant, was suited more for summer dress.

"You called?" Naru asked coolly. He, of course, wasted no time on pleasantries.

"Clearly I did," Ayami responded unperturbedly. She looked up slightly, probably at Mai's face, and cast a friendly smile. "I didn't know that you worked today, Mai. I thought you said you got the day off."

Mai nodded slowly. So this was why Ayami had suddenly asked her about her shifts in her last email. "Naru called me in."

Ayami nodded too, this time, with a slightly amused smile itching on her face.

"Of course he would," Ayami replied. "He probably wants to show you how morally repressed I really am. But back to business, _Shibuya Kazuya_."

Her cousin's eyes snapped back to her employer and Mai frowned. Was it her, or did every time Ayami mention Naru's name, she seemed to lace it with sarcasm?

"--signs of poltergeist presences. Lights flickering on and off; mysterious accidents; the usual, really. I haven't been there personally, so I can't vouch for anything, but if you have Hara Masako take a look at the resort, I'm sure she'll tell you what's up."

Naru didn't even look up.

"I'm not interested."

Ayami's smile widened and Mai could see her evident satisfaction. Oh boy. This wasn't going to go well at all.

"Come now, the case is more than interesting. This building has only been built for about a year; the owners are rather young, apparently, and this is their first business. They have not made any enemies, they are law abiding citizens, and they actually worked hard for what they have, unlike most of us blessed youngsters who have had everything handed to us on a silver platter. You wouldn't want their business to go to shambles just because you held a little grudge against me, right?"

"Then why don't you do it?" Naru responded dejectedly.

"Because if I were to tend to every case that was sent my way, I would have no time to eat and sleep," Ayami drawled patiently. "Besides, they weren't willing to pay my price, and I did feel a little sorry for them, so I sent them your way instead. So what do you say, Shibuya-san? Did I get you this time?"

"No."

"Don't be so hasty in declining my offer. Not many people get requests from me, Naru-chan, and I can assure you, you will be quite satisfied with what comes out afterwards. Besides their paycheck, I too will offer something that you desire."

Now, Naru did look up, but Mai could tell that he wasn't moved. "Domjouji-san, what could you possibly offer me—"

"I can help you find your brother."

Naru stopped.

Mai was horrified.

"How did you know?" Mai spluttered. She hadn't told anyone about Gene – not Ayami or even Bou-san. It had taken Mai over two years to learn of it; how on Earth did Ayami know just a week after Mai did?

Her cousin rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Mai. Psychic, remember? You and I share a link through bloodlines, and I _did _see the boy that was not Shibuya Kazuya through Caecilia's eyes when you were taken away by the ghosts of the Shinsengumi. Besides," Ayami added, her eyes snapping to Naru's face now. "When a person like you, _Shibuya-san_, comes all the way to Japan and stays here for that long, it tends to raise a few questions among lesser beings. Naturally, they investigate, and then someone like me comes along and they cannot wait to spill."

Naru didn't look impressed but Mai could tell from the slight change in his expression that he was considering her offer. "If my psychometry has failed, what makes you think you could find him?"

What on Earth was psychometry?

"I'm an apparent witch, remember? I can cast spells and hunt people down. And I have the resources to track literally anybody." She nodded upwards slightly, and Mai knew that that was in regards to her. "How do you think I found Mai so easily?"

"By summoning a goddess?" Mai suggested. Even she didn't agree on Naru playing Ayami's games. It was far, far too dangerous.

Ayami rolled her eyes. "I can be a little more original than that," she told her. "Besides, I didn't know your name or face, but I do know Eugene's. No gods or goddesses will be summoned for this case, I assure you."

Somewhere along the way, Lin-san had moved to stand alongside them.

"Naru," Lin-san said. He seemed wary if Ayami, and Mai couldn't blame him. The last time they'd been involved in a case with her, she'd summoned a goddess into their midst and expected them to send her back. No one had been hurt (except Ayami herself), but Mai swore that she was never going to set foot into Mimisaki Raidon's manor ever again. Especially when their meeting just a week ago had not gone well at all.

Naru didn't respond to the senior assistant's presence, and Lin-san tried again. "Come now, Naru. Be reasonable. You know what this girl is like."

"Did Lin Koujo actually just open his mouth, in regards to anything? I shall see that as a compliment, even if it was expressed as a junction towards my character." Ayami pressed her palm above her left chest, clearly holding it to her heart as she almost rolled her eyes. "I promise you, however, that I have nothing to do with the supernatural presence in the resort. I have not omitted any information in regards to the case from you, nor have I done any scheming behind your backs."

"Why don't you do it yourself then?" Mai asked. She had already seen her cousin perform an all out exorcism by reading a Latin passage straight from the top of her head. If Ayami told Mai she couldn't do it, it was clearly a lie. Mai might love her cousin and know that she wouldn't harm her, but she also knew the games Ayami liked to play.

"That's because I don't deal with spirits, and when I do, I don't normally exorcise them: I destroy them and they're sent them straight to hell. And besides, your employer wants to know where Gene is, doesn't he? I'm here to offer a clean, painless solution."

"Why don't you just tell him where Gene is?" Mai asked Ayami. The other girl shrugged.

"I don't like him, that's why."

Even Mai could see how unreasonable the response was. "Ayami—"

"It's the way of the Caecilius Clan, Mai. We need exchanges for anything when giving anyone something else. I am sure _Shibuya_-san knows this too, seeing as I have noted this I.P address nosing around websites that link to the files of the Five."

Mai fell silent. She would be lying if she said she understood the ways of the Caecilius Clan.

"On that note, wish Osamu a happy birthday for me, would you," Ayami added, turning to Mai. "I got him a small gift so I hope he likes it. It'll probably arrive on his doorsteps in a few hours. I sent some people ahead of me so that they could prepare our living arrangements at Arai Mountain."

Mai blinked. "Living arrangements?" she repeated. Then, it dawned to her. "You're coming here?"

Her cousin's smile widened. "I am at the airport at the moment. I will probably get to where you are in about twenty-four hours. We will arrive at the scene of the case around the same time, I believe."

Mai's eyes widened in alarm. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Ayami's presence – in reality, a part of her was actually looking forward to her cousin coming – but Ayami and the rest of SPR hadn't been in the same room since the case at the Mimisaki Manor. Bou-san couldn't even mention Ayami's name without growling.

And they were going to be involved in case together now?

Not good.

* * *

08.10.2008: A pretty tame start to this segment in comparison to the others. To be honest, the next chapter hasn't even finished yet. It is still over 3000 words though. So yeah, hope you guys liked the start ;)

**Many thanks to: Ariana Taniyama, miss koneko, Moons-chan, Aoi Faith, Angelic Kitsune, canadianviolet **(Unfortunately, you did get Raidon's and Ayami's relationship wrong again.But yes, I probably shouldn't have given him any more hints. LOL I really haven't planned to get Mai a familiar), **lurkmoar, ONIX-21, Lady Light, SimplyChristine, Gabryell-P, killbethy, Dreamer-MRAF, Ayjah, sinmay, reckless rage, **and **syNemYoa,**


	2. I dream

**Chapter 2 I dream**

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Day 1

* * *

_Why are you dreaming of cases before they even happen and without guidance? I can only give you one possible answer._

_Your powers are getting stronger._

_- Ayami_

* * *

It was that same mirror again.

She was standing in front of that same mirror, only this time, Mai saw no one inside the mirror. The three children weren't there, and nor were the various people who normally adorned the background.

One of the three children that she normally saw appeared in the hallway, a small dish in his hand. He seemed to have exited from one of the rooms, but when he saw Mai, his face expression hadn't changed at all.

He'd known that she was there.

He stopped in front of her eventually and Mai looked down at him.

"My name's Yukito, Mai," the little boy smiled. "Do you want to come and play with us?"

Mai frowned. The contents of the mirror was empty; she had no idea where everyone else was. "Where is everyone?" she asked, pointing at the mirror that seemed to hold another corridor.

"Why are you always in that mirror?" she nodded towards the mirror in the wall.

"They tell us to go in there," Yukito replied. "We ate their food and now we have to go play with them all the time." He smiled brightly at Mai and held out a dish for Mai. On it, there were several delicately wrapped sushi rolls. "Try some, Mai."

She didn't want to eat it yet she was compelled to reach for it anyway. Her fingers brushed by the dark green seaweed rolls before gently touching the roll on the furthest left. Mai frowned when she saw the slight red embedded in the rice. Was this some type of sauce?

No. It looked more like blood, really. But couldn't be right. Surely whoever cut their finger while cooking this would have noticed. Mai picked up the sushi and held it closer to her face.

There was definitely blood. And if Mai wasn't incorrect, she also saw a fingernail too.

Attached to the meat.

Mai screamed and dropped the sushi roll immediately. The green of the sushi fell apart when it hit the floor and a dismembered finger rolled out from the rice.

Mai felt as though she was going to be sick—

"Mai! Mai!"

Mai snapped her eyes open, then wished that she didn't when she felt the light attack her retinas immediately.

Then, Mai heard Bou-san pounding on her door and her eyes widened. She'd forgotten that Bou-san had volunteered to pick her up, with her luggage, before they all met up at the office.

"Mai! Mai! Are you there? Get ready, or we'll be late."

Oh, god. Not again.

* * *

The snow was beautiful.

Mai stared at the array of buildings that seemed to snap past her view as the van rolled by. As they reached the outskirts of the city, less and less houses seem to appear before her.

Mai frowned. She'd never been to Arai Mountain before. All Mai knew was that it was a famous skiing resort. Normally, she'd be incredibly hyped up about leaving the Tokyo region. Today, she could barely muster up the energy to do anything.

"Is Ayami going to be there?" Mai asked, turning over to Naru.

Naru looked up from his file temporarily

"Apparently her flight was delayed, so she sent us along to the house first. She'll be arriving later on tonight."

"No complaints here," Bou-san said merrily. "The longer the little princess takes, the better it'd be for us all."

Mai nodded slowly but when Bou-san turned over to her, he suddenly frowned. She shrugged at his questioning glance.

"You look tired, Mai. Perhaps you should get some sleep."

Mai shrugged, though she didn't bother. Even if she rested her eyes, she knew she wouldn't sleep. And if she did sleep, she knew that she would dream of paranormal entities. Sometimes, during her dreams, the star on her right shoulder would burn whenever a malicious spirit came close to her. Ayami had said that she didn't have to worry about that, as the emblem was to protect her, and the burn would warn her of anything approaching. So far, as far as Mai was concerned, it only worked in her dreams, seeing as she'd been taken away just a day or two after she'd been given this sign. Ayami had laughed and said that the mark hadn't quite been activated just yet, and that Ayami would do it when she came by.

Naru turned over at her, watching her in that mild, dissecting manner and Mai felt a slight sense of guilt, though she had no idea why.

"Eat some food," Naru said. He literally dumped a wrapped pastry roll onto her lap. Naru had never tried to feed her before. Mai didn't know what to think.

"Umm, I think I'll be right, thanks," Mai said, remembering back to the finger sushi in her dreams. Just the thought of any rolls, at the moment, put a slight turn to her appetite. Cakes, however; that was another story. Especially since she hadn't had breakfast or lunch yet. Mai reached for one of those.

"You're going to get sick if you keep eating like that," Bou-san said warily, watching the way she gobbled down the slice in two bites.

Mai grinned, amused by the way he was watching her like a zoo animal. And a little offended.

"It's nice," she defended after she'd swallowed. Bou-san nodded rather doubtfully and went for a pastry instead. Mai looked down at the food. It wasn't packaged like grocery food, but looked as though it had been baked at home instead.

"Did your housekeeper make this?" Mai asked, turning to Naru now. He cast a droll stare in response and Mai blinked defensively. What? The food was obviously home-cooked so was it wrong for her to assume that Naru might have a housekeeper who'd made it? It was doubtful that Naru had baked.

"Can you see Lin baking?" Naru asked her.

Mai had forgotten that Lin was Naru's glorified babysitter. Mai smiled at Naru's comment though. If it had been anyone else, Mai would have thought that they were attempting a joke. Naru's dry tone, however, told Mai that he was merely making a point.

Mai's eyes laugh and she snuck a glance at the senior assistant. "Lin-san baking?" Bou-san repeated, butting into their conversation. "Lin-san!" he called out, attracting the attention of the other man immediately. "Do you bake?"

The assistant didn't bother looking back at them. He cast them a dry stare in the rear mirror, very much like Naru's, and Mai snorted. Her employer sunk back into his file and Mai grinned.

Mai and Bou-san continued with their usual bickering and pointless conversations. Eventually, they made it to the front of a resort that Mai swore she'd seen on a television show. They dragged themselves out of the van while Naru efficiently ignored them, as pair usual. Mai and Bou-san walked to the front of the hotel, both of them trembling warily when they felt the cold immediately seep through their layers of clothing.

"Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold," Mai muttered. She froze from where she stood, refusing to take another step forward until her body got used to the weather. Winter might have just passed by Arai Mountain was filled with snow still.

And it was cold.

Her teeth chattered as she looked around. From the front of the resort, several figures approached them, but Mai's eyes were drawn to the shortest ones. Three children, identical to the ones Mai had seen in her dream, headed to her directly. Mai's eyes widened and she took a step back. No way. There was no way this was happening. Was she dreaming again? She snapped her gaze towards Naru, who had just been introduced to the owner of the resort.

When she looked down again, the three children had already settled in front of her.

They smiled lovingly.

"Hello, Mai," they greeted in unison.

All she could do was stare.

* * *

It was almost the 10PM that night and still Mai couldn't get to sleep. She'd been lying here in bed for almost an hour, merely staring at the ceiling as Masako and Ayako snored lightly on either side of her, blissfully asleep. By the time they'd set up base, it had been almost 8.30PM. They'd had dinner late and Naru had told them to rest early for tomorrow morning. Ayami hadn't come yet, but even John-san had arrived already so Mai had no idea what was keeping her cousin. They were both from Australia, weren't they? Shouldn't they be taking the same flight out?

By 11PM, Mai was still wide awake though she could feel every muscle in her body aching. Her mind, however, refused to sleep. Was it because of those dreams she'd been receiving?

At 12AM, Mai didn't envy Ayami at all. Did her cousin go through every night like this? Did all psychics go through their nights like this? Masako was sleeping rather soundly though and Mai found herself undeniably envious. She wished she could be at peace like that. It took her forever to sleep these days; when she did sleep, her dreams would make sure that her rest was eventful.

When her alarm beeped lightly one more time, Mai had had enough. Mai tossed her blanket aside and grabbed her dressing robe. Although the entire inn was heated, Mai had no desire to contract hypothermia. If she wasn't going to be able to sleep, she might as well go see what that mirror was. Although Mai was half-afraid that she might see those children again, she did doubt that even _her _luck could be that bad.

Her stroll was rather quiet and Mai prayed to God that she wouldn't bump into any other guests in her dressing robe. She dawdled around the floor rather and frowned when she passed the lounge. There was a rather familiar figure with their back to Mai, standing by the bar. Mai's tired brain took awhile to think of who it was, but when Mai heard the pop of an uncorked wine bottle, she immediately knew who it was.

"Ayami?" Mai blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Her cousin turned around before she smiled. "I said I'd be here, didn't I?" she shot Mai a wink and filled her wine glass with deep, red liquid. Ayami swished the win in her glass and gestured Mai to sit on the sofa before joining her.

"What are you doing up so late?" Ayami asked.

Mai hesitated for a moment, not sure how to begin. She'd never felt comfortable telling _anyone _about what her abilities hinted. With Ayami, that hesitancy was minor, yet with this case, Mai still felt reluctant. After all, it was her cousin that brought them here. But Ayami _had _promised that she wouldn't try anything this time. So Mai told her everything. The dreams, the mirrors, the children, and the sushi.

"Brings a whole new meaning to 'finger food', doesn't it?" Ayami commented dryly when Mai mentioned the dismembered body part.

Mai frowned, not quite understanding her. "Sorry?"

"A Western joke – never mind – but Mai, if you're all that worried about the case, I can probably manipulate Shibuya Kazuya into letting you off on this one. Especially since it is news of his brother that is at stake, and he is probably fretting a little bit on that one."

Mai couldn't see Naru fretting, but she did manage a smile. "I'll be fine. Besides, it is my job."

Ayami shrugged, not seeming to care as much. She was always a little more indifferent when she drank; it was as though the alcohol set her on a different plane to everyone else. Though she was still notably sober, the liquor made her more pensive.

"Now do you see why I appreciate the alcohol so much?" Ayami asked. Mai had a feeling Ayami was speaking of her insomnia but she wasn't too sure. Her cousin held out her wine glass out to her in offering and Mai shook her head, declining. She didn't know how well Ayami held her liquor, but Mai had no intention of gaining a hangover next to her headache tomorrow.

"There's something I want to ask you though," Mai began carefully, almost hesitant to break the silence. It was a question that had tugged on her conscience for awhile now. She had wanted to ask Naru, but whenever _anyone_ mentioned their previous case with the Shinsengumi, he didn't appear at all happy. Mai had figured that she could always ask Ayami what was wrong: these days, Mai just couldn't stomach Naru's bad temper.

Her cousin nodded, not at all surprised with the change in subject. "Shoot."

"The case at Karakura High School. Apparently the Shinsengumi had been trapped at the school for awhile. Why did they wait until now to start doing whatever it was that they were doing? Isn't that a little odd, considering they've had over a hundred years?"

Ayami's smile was wry and it was obvious that she had expected Mai to ask her eventually. "Your suspicions aren't exactly incorrect. The whole thing was set up by Mimisaki. He gave the school about a million US dollars and said, _'Here. Redo your old buildings.'_ Naturally, he also left out that members of the Miharu Family, years and years ago, had previously been unable to help the spirits in the school move on so they'd only locked them in the abandoned buildings instead. The Miharu Family are pacifists; they don't like to destroy. Anyway, the construction knocked over the wards left by the Miharu family, and Raidon had the headmaster contact SPR so he could lure the lot of you onto his land and test you."

Mai frowned. All that – he'd done all that – just to test them? People had died because of him, yet somehow, he made it all sound like a small game. And so had Ayami. "Test us for what?" Mai asked suspiciously.

Ayami shrugged. "I don't take heed as to what goes on in that mind of his. Don't worry though; whatever it is, rest assured that I'll take care of it."

No; Ayami would take care of _Mai, _but Mai knew that she didn't care about the rest of SPR.

Mai couldn't help it. "So what _did_ you do to Raidon?"

Ayami's smile turned a little dry as she refilled her glass. "I burnt down one of his clubs. His patrons were horrified. So were his accountants, by the sounds of it. Unfortunately, when he got around to visiting me, all he did was laugh."

Mai was a little horrified too. She'd pegged Ayami to be arrested for many things, but arson really wasn't one of them. "You set his club on fire?"

Ayami shrugged casually and Mai had the dreading suspicion that the girl had done it before. "Raidon's not a billionaire without reason, my dear. The Caecilius Clan may be wealthy itself, but we fall behind the House of Alexandria when it comes to capital."

"Why _did_ you stay at his ancestral home if you hate him so much?"

"I have my reasons," Ayami replied cryptically. Ayami took another deep sip of her alcohol before continuing. "The House of Alexandria's not quite as it seems, Mai. Their bloodline might not stretch back as far as ours, but in a way, I guess you could say that their blood is bluer."

"So they're greater than us?"

Ayami's smile was wry. "I didn't say that. The only reason why I say that his bloodline is bluer than ours – to some degree – is because Raidon is a direct descendent of Alexander the Great. That's why the clan is called the House of Alexandria.

"Our powers are just a little different. While the House of Alexandria focuses mainly on material – _worldly_, I like to say – substances, the Caecilius Clan tends to specialise on _Otherworldly_ creatures. Naturally, historical artefacts are going to hold more value in means of finance."

Wow. That did sound rather impressive. So each family of the Five focused on their own specialty. Mai wasn't sure she liked the idea of summoning supernatural beings onto their plane though. Just the thought of Caecilia, Ayami's familiar, made Mai's skin crawl. Mai repressed a shudder and looked back at her cousin.

"What about the Ramirez Family and the Miharu Family?"

"The Ramirez Family? Well, let's just say they like voodoos and cursing a little more than anyone should. The Miharu Family, on the other hand, believe in meditational studies and practice the arts of healing and exorcisms."

Mai frowned. "And the last family?" Mai asked. "What do they do?"

For the first time, Ayami seemed a little reluctant to continue. Her eyes glossed over, just for a moment, and Mai could tell that her cousin was taking a trip down memory lane. "I don't like to talk about them," Ayami replied, after awhile. "But Raidon's mother was a member of that clan, from what I remember." Her cousin took another deep sip of her alcohol that almost drained the bottle completely.

"The point is: with the Five, we all play in different fields, really. And we excel at them all." Ayami tossed her current bottle aside and popped open another one. "Which god would you like me to summon to prove my point?"

Mai shook her head hastily. "I believe you," she assured her.

Ayami looked a little disappointed by Mai's response. "Pity," she said. "I would have at least liked to summon Chione to get rid of the snow. I hate the cold."

Just when Mai thought her cousin was normal, Ayami had to go and prove her wrong. "Then why did you come here?" Mai asked curiously.

Ayami looked just a little offended by Mai's question. "For you, obviously!" she said, sounding just a little bit indignant. "You didn't think I'd feel alright about you tending to this case with only _him_ as protection?" 'Him' was no doubt Naru.

"You said Naru was the only one that could match Raidon," Mai defended, feeling slightly insulted on Naru's behalf.

Ayami snorted. "He is, but that's assuming he can control his powers. No offence, but at the moment, any random blast is likely to kill your precious employer. I'm better off sticking you of Lin-san, but then you're at risk from dying of boredom."

Now, Mai was a trifle bit irritated. Naru was one of the best: even Lin-san had said so, and Mai had seen him take out a demi-god on his own. There was no need for Ayami to phrase it like that.

"Naru's beaten a demi-god before," Mai said.

Ayami nodded patiently. "I do not doubt his incredibly gifts; I doubt his abilities to control them. He seems fine with compressing it in his body; I wonder if he's ever thought to learn how to release the power without ending up in hospital."

Mai frowned for a moment. That was true. But then hadn't Ayami said that Mimisaki Raidon could match Naru in terms of that? Mai could remember how easy it was for him to use his powers. As a member of the Five, Ayami probably had access to information that the rest of the world was barred from. Did she know how to show Naru? "Do you think you could help him?"

"Oh, please. Members of the Five manipulate raw power on a daily basis. The majority of our childhood is dedicated to controlling our powers. Only after that can we actually begin to harness it instead. Shibuya Kazuya knows that I can help him; his parents, I believe, have contacted the Miharu family on several occasions, asking for help. That was one of the reasons why Eugene Davis travelled to Japan in the first place."

Gene. Just the mention of his name brought a frown to Mai's face. How could you have been employed to Naru for nearly two years and not know that she had been dreaming of his brother for that long? Mai hadn't even known that Naru _had _a brother until he'd mentioned it – quite casually, too – in passing. And why was Gene's surname 'Davis' while Nar's was 'Shibuya'?

It just didn't make any sense.

Mai watched her cousin warily. Ayami, of course, knew everything. "_Who _is Naru? Why do you know so much about him?"

"If he doesn't want to tell you who he is then even _I _can't be so selfish as to tell you," her cousin replied bluntly. She winked at Mai, just to show that there were no hard feelings, and then stood up in one, fluid motion that reminded Mai very much of Mimisaki Raidon, even though she'd only met him once. Were all blue-blooded psychics like that? Or was that just the leaders?

"If your employer truly wishes it, I guess I _could _show him how to harness his kikou, but you have to be there too.

Again, her cousin's words confused her. Was it because she was more tired than normal or had Ayami always been this confusing? "Why do I have to be there?" Mai asked.

"Because you need to learn how to use your powers too. Shibuya-san, of course, must pay a price for my favour. I don't do anything for free."

"And what would you demand, Domjouji-san?"

The extra voice caused Mai's heart to still and her eyes snapped over to the entrance of the lounge immediately. Standing beside the doorway, looking ever so perfect in his casual wear, was her young employer.

"Naru."

How long had he been standing there? Mai got up, almost on impulse, and walked over to him. When she reached his side, Naru looked from Ayami to Mai and Mai could read from his impression that he was unimpressed.

Naru turned back to Ayami and Mai turned over to look at her cousin too. Ayami leant against the edge of the couch, standing still as she watched them. Then, Ayami gestured towards them both and Mai felt something hit her, almost like a slight wind that blew in front an open window. Mai blinked, the exhaustion of her body seeming to expand before she felt her legs give way beneath her.

Naru caught her quickly and Mai blinked again, suddenly rather drowsy. She thought she heard Naru calling out to her and eventually, she felt herself fall unconscious.

Naru caught Mai before she dropped and watched as her eyes slowly closed. For a horrifying moment, he thought that something had finally happened to her and he felt his heart still in a way he didn't know it could.

"Well aren't you just the knight in shining armour," Ayami drawled. She cast her eyes towards the pale boy and watched him push Mai towards his chest. She hadn't thought that he was capable of human emotions but by the looks of it, she'd just struck a note.

"What did you do?" Shibuya Kazuya asked. His tone was light but Ayami didn't miss the anger in his eyes. The resentment burnt through to her body, and Ayami concluded that Shibuya Kazuya was quite handsome when he wasn't playing as the Ice Prince.

She shrugged. "I sealed her powers for the night. She should manage a dreamless sleep for once." He didn't seem appeased and Ayami watched him, unblinking. "Surely even you have noticed how her developing powers are beginning to plague her."

"And why are they developing?"

Trust him to ask that question. Again, Ayami shrugged. "With experience, our powers develop. Most blue-blooded psychics have their powers manifest at an early age in order to control it as we literally live with poltergeist and go on paranormal expeditions every day. Mai never learnt to control them so her abilities surfaced slowly as her brain adjusted to different things." She cocked her head. "But surely you knew that, Shibuya Kazuya. After all, if you hadn't worried for Mai, you would have already had her use her abilities to find your brother. She can't control her abilities yet so it's still dangerous for her to use them. You don't want Mai taking the risk, do you?" Ayami asked. Her eyes glittered with amusement and Naru didn't reply. Instead, he watched her with expectancy and Ayami knew that she was right.

"I'm telepathic, Shibuya-san. I do know a lot, and you wouldn't be here right now if I didn't." The girl swung herself upright and stood. His face was still expressionless, but she could tell that he didn't appreciate her insight. Strangely enough, not many people did, and they liked it even less when she was correct. Which, unfortunately for them, was quite often.

And that was why Ayami couldn't resist adding, "I can't actually sense your thoughts, by the way: that guess before was woman's intuition."

* * *

16.10.2008: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update. I've been obsessed with Zelda. I've had the game for ages and I wouldn't say that it's overly good, but I am determined to clock it. And since I normally suck at games, I've been dedicating a lot of hours to it. With the help with the online walkthrough guide (I told you I suck) but yes, you probably didnt come to read about that. I made this chapter extra long to make up for it. It's very ghost-hunt in that it has almost no action. Well, I think so anyway. Why can't Naru have a Link-like phantom sword and come swiping down at the ghost and vanquish them? Hmmm...I guess I _could _make that in my AU, but dude, can anyone see Naru in a King Athur armour? Okay, I'll stop.

**Many thanks to: azuyami-chan, miss koneko, Gabryell-P, Moons-chan, Chibi-Kari, canadianviolet **(LOL to be honest, I didn't actually intend to make Ayami that likeable. I wanted to make her a little two-faced (really nice to Mai but stuck up and uncaring to the rest) but a lot of people seem to really like her. I like her to, but that's because she's one of my creations, I think. She does lie to make life difficult for Naru though. She can't stand him, actually. It's kind of funny when I write about them because both of them are fighting for Mai's attentions...I don't mind you guessing the relationship ;) You find out in 2 stories time anyway, really. It's not quite as explosive as everyone seems to think it is; I would have posted Intents of Deceit already, but because its the literal AU to Vesta's Bonds, there would have been a major set of spoilers), **Dreamer-MRAF, ONIX-21, Starlight-Wild Koneko, Ayjah, sinmay, ****Ariana Tanimyama, SimplyChristine, killbethy, syNemYoa, crazymel2008, **and **Otaku Nayami**


	3. The Warning

**Chapter 3 The Warning**

**

* * *

  
**

For the first time in weeks, Mai was completely refreshed when she woke up.

Her eyes blinked in welcome at the artificial light and Mai's entire body was languidly relaxed. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd felt like this.

And then she remembered.

Naru. Ayami. And their talk. Her cousin had gestured towards her and then Mai had literally fallen asleep. Well, whatever Ayami had done, it certainly had helped Mai. Mai wasn't sure what it was; her cousin's uncivilised ways had always been a little eccentric for Mai's tastes. Now more than ever, however, Mai appreciated her cousin's powers.

Quickly, Mai showered and then ran downstairs to join the others in base. When she reached it, she saw Ayako standing at the far corner; Bou-san pointedly ignoring the other people in the room; Masako was keeping to herself in the corner; John-san was scratching his head nervously; and on top of it all, Ayami was standing right beside the window, watching them all with a supercilious smirk.

Hostility was literally crackling in the air.

Oh, boy.

Mai hesitantly entered the room, plastering a bright smile on before she greeted everyone. They greeted her in return and Mai noticed that the antagonism had drastically decreased, thank god. Mai wanted to go over and spend more time with Ayami, but she didn't want to leave the others like that either.

Naru came in shortly after that, followed by Lin-san. He looked at Mai, still standing near the door, and frowned. Mai shrugged in response and he seemed to understand what was going on.

"We've got a job to do now," Naru said. His voice rang loud and clearly into the room and the other members of SPR instinctively approached him. Ayami turned over, her face emotionless as she watched him.

Naru's cool eyes bore directly into her cousin's, who didn't even flinch. Mai didn't know how Ayami did it, because _she _personally recognised that look; it was the one that was normally followed by a calm and indifferent order.

And of course, Naru played true to Mai's predictions.

"Domjouji-san, although you play the role of the observer, perhaps you'd like to leave the room for awhile. You seem to be making my employees nervous."

"She's not making me nervous!" Bou-san spluttered indignantly. Mai felt a touch of amusement when she saw how sensitive Bou-san was in regards to Ayami.

Naru's eyes immediately bore into the monk's. "Was I talking about you?"

Bou-san muttered something unflattering and Naru rolled his eyes. From the distance, Ayami was watching them with a cool look in her eyes. Mai had a feeling that her cousin wasn't acting as Ayami at the moment: she was acting as the First Lady of the Caecilius Clan.

"I'll stay where I want, though I do thank you for the offer. Or would you rather me leave a demon in the room to learn what I wish? I assure you, their presence will be far more disconcerting than mine."

"That's doubtful," Bou-san muttered, though the entire room heard anyway.

Mai gulped at the memory of Caecilia, a demon that Ayami had previously sent to guard her. The woman had been utterly horrifying and Mai had been stuck in a closed cell with the demon for several hours. She had no desire to renew that acquaintance any time soon.

Naru rolled his eyes and just stared at her cousin. It was obvious that he wasn't going to let this one off and Mai sighed inwardly, ready for another argument. Sometimes their antics amused her, but sometimes, Mai wished that the pair of them would just get along.

Then, just like that, Ayami burst into flames.

Mai screamed, horrified when she saw the flames erupt around her cousin. Mai made way to Ayami immediately but was quickly held back by Naru as Bou-san ran for the fire extinguisher.

Then, just as quickly as they'd come, the flames vanished. Mai's eyes widened even further and she felt her heart catch in her throat. Oh, god.

When the flames cleared, Mai caught sight of her cousin's frown. Ayami, despite the occurrence, was completely untouched.

Mai bit back a sob.

"Please don't use that," Ayami said, scowling when she saw what was in Bou-san's arms. "You'll ruin my hair. Don't come close to me at the moment," Ayami added, just as Mai took a step towards her. "I'm their current target and I'm still alive. Spirits can be rather consistent with their effort, meaning they will try again. If I burst into flames again, you might get caught too."

Mai swallowed and nodded slowly. Naru's fingers circled her wrist still, though Mai only felt him faintly. She barely even noticed the slight, impassive gaze that Masako momentarily cast Mai from her corner. Her mind was dimly aware of what was going on, but her thoughts just couldn't quite process. Ayami had been so close to death; how could she be so calm? Bou-san, John-san, Ayako and Masako all looked horrified. Naru and Lin-san were the only ones that managed a stoic expression.

"Well, I guess we've just experienced one of the phenomenal events in this hotel: spontaneous combustion. Apparently, some other clientele have been set on fire, but never were the flames this serious." Her cousin frowned, completely undisturbed by what had happened. She looked up at Naru. "Do we take that as a warning?"

Naru nodded once. "That might be it," he said evenly. If he was shocked or surprised, again, he didn't show it. Spontaneous combustion. Wasn't that when someone randomly went up in flames? Why on Earth was her cousin being so calm about it?

It was amazing that the flames had been there yet somehow, she appeared completely unscathed. It was as though the fire hadn't even been there.

Mai realised just then how little she knew about this case. Naru hadn't shared or talked to them about it at all, but it had to be dangerous, right? After all, Ayami was the one that was called first. No one probably called her, as a leader of The Five, if it was just any case.

"What are you?" Ayako asked. Her tone told Mai that Ayako thought Ayami was a cross between something fascinating and disgusting.

Her cousin's expression turned dry. "We've covered that already," Ayami said. She dryly peered around the room before looking towards John-san. "Walk me to my room?" she asked, though somehow, her request sounded more like a demand. "If I combust in the hallway, the guests are going to freak."

"You're leaving?" Ayako said it with disbelief. A minute ago, Naru had just been _trying _to get rid of her and she hadn't wanted to go. Now, it was as though she'd agreed to go along with it from the start.

Ayami's smile was brilliant, but for a moment, Mai could sense the slight dishonesty. Her cousin had always been brilliant, though now, that graceful ease in which she enacted that perfection seemed just slightly lacking.

Which told Mai that Ayami was hiding something.

Mai felt her own nerves soothing, somehow, when she heeded to that conclusion. Her cousin exited the room quickly before Mai could even ask to go along with her and Jon-san, but surprisingly, Mai didn't worry as much as she thought she would. It wasn't unusual for Ayami to be dishonest – the truth was, her insincerity was the sole basis of their initial meeting.

And to think that just half an hour ago, she'd woken up so well and happy.

As soon as Ayami left the room, Naru started. The discussion proceeded vaguely, which told Mai that Naru really knew hardly anything about the case. That wasn't surprisingly, though, when Mai remembered who it was that had assigned the case to them in the first place. Apparently, Naru had spoken to Rika-san already, apparently, though he hadn't managed to get much from her. Apparently, all Rika-san had said was that there were some guests in the hotel had claimed to see apparitions of various people sitting in their rooms. Things were being moved around, even though housekeeping had yet to visit their rooms, and some things – like Ayami before – had randomly combusted into flames. So far, no one had really gotten hurt – bar from a few minor self-inflicted injuries – but Naru said that the incidents were getting more serious each time.

Then, just as Naru proposed that they check out the inn personally, John-san re-entered the room, having had safely escorted Ayami back.

"The kids knew you though, Mai," Bou-san added. He seemed to have just remembered their meeting the previous day. Mai didn't know how, though; he'd been standing so far away from her, having had greeted Rika-san with Naru. Apparently, Rika-san's husband, the other owner of the resort, had left to greet Ayami from the airport. SPR had yet to meet Takashi-san, though since Ayami had arrived early this morning, which meant that they'd see him soon.

"Mai? Did you hear me?"

Mai almost rolled her eyes. "You're a bit hard to miss, Bou-san," she pointed out.

He faked a wounded look. "You're getting meaner and meaner, Mai."

Mai bit back a smile and shrugged. The monk shot her a mock-scathing look and Mai turned her attention over to Naru. He'd watched them banter, patiently waiting for them to finish, which was strange, seeing as he'd normally just demand it.

"We're going to have a look around the inn now," Naru told them. His face was, as usual, completely emotionless. "Mai and Lin will come with me. Hara-san and Matsuzuki-san – would the two of you please head to the east side of the inn and check for temperatures around there? John-san and Takigawa-san; please check the grounds outside and make sure that everything is alright."

The others nodded in agreement and quickly left the room. Mai wasn't even sure what Naru wanted them to find, as they had no idea what was going on, but everyone seemed to have faith in his judgement. Mai was actually a little excited about being on the same team as Naru and Lin-san; between the two of them, they normally did find _something. _She quickly grabbed the clipboard as Lin-san and Naru stood up, ready to leave the room.

Mai walked along with them in the corridor, but it wasn't long before Lin-san walked ahead of them, leaving Mai alone with Naru. She smiled lightly, the feminine side of her enjoying the time alone with him.

That was, of course, until he opened his mouth.

And Naru didn't even bother to turn over to her when he asked her the question. "When did you first meet the children for them to know your name?"

Mai hesitated in answering, but it was all Naru needed.

"You dreamt about them, didn't you?" he asked sharply.

She almost felt like rolling her eyes at his theatrics, but Mai managed to nod instead. She didn't feel like arguing; her emotions were still a little raw from what she'd just witnessed with Ayami.

"Stay away from the children," Naru told her.

Again, Mai nodded, though she felt a slight stab of irritation. So much for enjoying their walk. She wasn't an idiot. Of course she was going to stay away from them kids. Especially after her last dream. That didn't mean, though, that if the kids approached her now, she wouldn't hesitate to extract information from them.

God – Naru was such a dictator.

"I'm not dumb, you know," Mai couldn't help but point out.

Naru's piercing eyes ran over her features and Mai felt as though she were being x-rayed by his navy gaze. Then, Mai could not help but feel a trifle bit annoyed. Did he have to have such perfect eyes? Mai disliked Naru in his perfection, and she disliked him even more for knowing of that he had fewer flaws than the average person. Just being subjected to his undivided attention at the moment made Mai feel a little uncomfortable.

"You're going to have a hard time proving that," he said.

It was only after he'd moved forward to join Lin-san did she realise that he was commenting to her previous response.

* * *

Their search of the inn seemed like a fruitless attempt to gain information. Mai knew that they wouldn't find much, even if they tried, though she did know that there was one room she wanted to find. In her dreams, she'd sighted a mirror that seemed to be the source of all their problems, and Ayami seemed to agree with her. If Mai found the mirror now, in reality instead of a dream, would it be much different?

They conducted temperature checks in every single room. They obviously didn't enter the ones occupied by guest, but according to the feedback, there were only four rooms whose occupants had reported supernatural sightings and none of those rooms had been leased out to anyone since then. Naru had said that the temperatures there were a lot lower than normal, but that obviously didn't mean much, considering they already knew that the place was haunted.

They moved forward and stopped at the large staircase right at the entrance of the inn. Mai's eyes widened as she saw the huge staircase circling the chandelier in the middle of the room. It was like one of those huge ballrooms; even the light seemed gold rather than white like in the movies.

As she stared in awe at the chandelier, Mai almost missed the huge mirror that by the end of the staircase.

It was identical to the one that she'd seen in her dreams.

Mai headed to the mirror immediately and stopped right in front of the piece, frowning. She couldn't see anything particular about the mirror now, though the markings and everything else were all there. It didn't even _feel_ like there was anything unusual about it, yet in her dreams, Mai knew that this had been the same mirror that had held so many people. Even Yukito-chan had said that the people played with him when he went inside it.

In a scene right out of the movies, Mai saw Ayami move towards the shifting of the upper-level and stare impassively down at the surroundings of the lower ground. Her cousin stood at the staircase and her gaze dropped at the small table left for display on the side. The mirror of the surface reflected the magnificent chandelier on the ceiling.

Mai frowned. What was her cousin doing here, anyway? She had said that the spirits might again try to target her, so she as apparently meant to be away from human eye and touch, yet there she was, moving through the inn as though she hadn't a care in the world. Her cousin was obviously hiding something. Did it have something to do with the case? But Ayami had said that she wouldn't interfere in this. Her cousin had never broken a promise to Mai before, but at the same time, she had never been fully honest to her either.

So what was Ayami thinking?

* * *

The next time Mai saw Ayami, it was dark again. Mai wasn't even sure what had happened. Just a minute ago, she'd been in her room, responding to her emails, but now, she was suddenly standing in base again. Her cousin was sitting on the couch by the door, and typically enough, pouring some alcohol into a wine flute. Naru stood across from her and it was obvious to Mai that the two were in deep conversation. They were speaking in English, presumably, because Mai recognised a few bits and pieces of the language.

Strange, because Mai hadn't known that Naru knew English that well. She'd always suspected that Japanese wasn't his first language – he'd left enough hints that suggested that, after all – but Mai had never heard him speak English so fluently before. And to Ayami at that.

They didn't seem to see her though, which told Mai that this must have been a dream. But she didn't remember coming here, and Gene wasn't here either. Normally, it was him who showed her around in her dreams, but ever since that case at the high school, Mai hadn't seen him around.

Something tugged at her fingers and Mai immediately looked down. The little boy – Yukito-chan, she remembered – gestured Mai to lean down towards him. Mai hesitated, remembering back to the sushi episode. She didn't lean down to him, but she didn't have to, because at that moment, the boy's face was focused right on the scene of Naru and Ayami sitting together.

"Look, Mai," the boy said, not seeming to notice her reluctance. "They're talking about you."

Mai didn't quite understand what the child was on about, but as her gaze switched back to her cousin and employer, she instantly heard Ayami switch to a language that she understood.

"Please, let's speak in Japanese if we're moving on in topics," Ayami said dryly. "Your pommy accent is killing the Australian here. Contrary to popular opinion, I do not find the English tones an aphrodisiac." Her cousin raised the glass of wine in her hands. "Liquor, my friend?"

Even in Mai's dreams, Ayami was taunting Naru.

Naru looked down his nose at drink Ayami had offered and shook his head. "If you're looking for a safe set towards a guiltless sleep, Domjouji-san," he said, now speaking Japanese also, "anti-depressants will work much better. And you might want to try adopting a new personality too."

"And the barb hits home," her cousin said dryly, though this time, in a tone that was a little less mocking. "And don't give me that attitude, pretty boy. You're obviously annoyed—"

"I've told you many times that Mai has a tendency to attract paranormal entities," Naru said coolly. "You're the one that never heeded to my warnings."

"Touché, but it is necessary for Mai to be here."

So they had been talking about her before. And clearly they had organised it at a time where no one else would be around either. Naru didn't look impressed either, by what Ayami had said, though all he did was narrow his eyes. Mai listened to them, slightly touched that Naru was worried about her, but at the same time, she was annoyed that he thought that she couldn't take care of herself. Okay, so on many occasions, Mai had proven that she was a little prone to accidents – that didn't mean _much_, especially since she always managed to get out of the situations in the end.

"Her exposure to random supernatural attacks—"

"_This_ supernatural being wasn't random in its attacks, but," Ayami cut in coolly. "They'd aimed for _Mai_, but another presence – vague, even more powerful – thrust the flame to the next available target at that time, which happened to be me."

Mai's heart stopped. Those flames had been meant for her? What was that supposed to mean?

Naru, thankfully, asked for her. "What are you implying?"

Ayami's smile was literally sparkling. "It means that Mai has a supernatural guardian, _Shibuya-_san."

Naru stopped, his eyes widening and Ayami, clearly sensing her victory, continued. "As much as I dislike Raidon, I could probably utilize his resources to protect Mai—"

"Unless he gets to her first."

Ayami stopped and managed a roll of her eyes. Mai felt a stab of annoyance at the way both of them thought to manage her life without her.

Then, Ayami frowned, and Mai realised that her cousin must have sensed her presence. Yukito-chan must have known too, because his eyes widened fractionally. Quickly, the scene before her changed and Mai now stood in an empty corridor with the child alone. Yukito-chan looked up at her calmly, his eyes holding far too much wisdom for a child his age.

"The others said that _they _can handle that girl and those devout people that came with you. The tall man might be hard to work around, but _they're _not too worried about them. But we worry about these two a little bit. They keep interfering. And they're not dumb." Yukito-chan shrugged. "We need a witch for our project; either _you _or that other girl will do."

A witch? For a project? What were they trying to do here, anyway? Had someone actually drawn their team to this inn? Then, Mai remembered back to Ayami's expression as she stood by the rail at the upper-level. Had Ayami known about it?

"What are you trying to do?" Mai asked. Her tone was laced with the suspicion that she felt inside. Nothing here seemed as it appeared. She would have said that Yukito-chan was possessed, had she went by everything she'd seen so far, but her instincts told her otherwise.

A sly, dry smile appeared on the child's lips in response to her question. Then, the smile turned into a grin and child innocence seemed to illuminate his features again.

"Don't tell them anything, Mai," Yukito-chan said sweetly. "Or you'll be sorry."

Mai frowned, suddenly caught off guard. She knelt down to the child's level. He seemed earnest – almost as though he didn't know the true meanings of his own words.

"What did they mean?"

Yukito-chan smiled. "You'll see, Mai."

* * *

The room was still completely dark when Mai woke up.

Her mind had completely snapped awake right after the confrontation with Yukito-chan. She mentally recalled the conversation in her mind, just to make sure that she didn't forget anything. Yukito-chan and the others had drawn someone here – _witches_. But was Ayami even a witch? Her cousin had said that she was something similar to it, but Mai didn't think that Ayami really _did _go around with a tall black hat whilst riding on a broom.

No doubt Ayami would be worried that her hair might be messed up while she rode deep into the night.

Part of Mai wondered why she didn't just confront the children in the real world and ask them what was going on. The other part told her never to go near them again, especially after the sushi event. She supposed she could have gotten someone else to deal with the children, but when Mai remembered back to how Naru had treated Ayame-chan several cases back, she didn't think she wanted to subject _any _child to that interrogation again. He hadn't been cruel, but he'd definitely been indifferent to the fact that she was a child and didn't quite understand what was going on.

Mai sighed. Well, there probably wasn't a point in pondering too much into the case; all it was doing, really, was giving her was a slight headache. She'd talk to Ayami and Naru about it tomorrow, maybe, and hopefully get a few answers from them.

Mai swallowed, then grimaced as she realised how dry her throat was. Intuitively, she reached beside her for the bottle she kept beside her bed. An unfamiliar obstacle sat in the way, however, and Mai frowned. She sat up a little bit and felt at the space beside her. There seemed to be some lumpy-cold thing set beside her on the bed.

What on Earth was this?

Before she could analyse it any further, the door to her room snapped open and the light from the hallway spilled into her room. Mai flinched at the light and then frowned when she realised what was on her bed.

A pair of eyes, wide and horrified, stared back at her.

They were attached to a face, which was set on a body beside her.

And when her mind realised what it was, she screamed.

Mai screamed. And she screamed and screamed. It was utterly horrifying to see those eyes stare bleakly back at her. Dry. Red. And begging her for help. But she couldn't help them – it was too late. No one could help them now.

The thing beside her had actually been a person once.

She'd been sleeping beside a corpse.

* * *

**2nd December, 2008**: I am so sorry that it took me this long to update. I'd actually written out most of this chapter awhile ago, but then exams came up and then I finished exams but then I started my Christmas shopping (I know, I have a strange list of priorities) and because I get a little errr...attached to the shops, I didn't really get around to finishing this chapter till tonight. I don't like this chapter that much, because it's one of the ones that push you deeper into the plot, but yeah, it needed to be written or the plot would seem too long. I think I might write you guys a Christmas present too; maybe a double update or the first chapter of Eternity, which is the alternate dimension story. Which would you prefer? Okay, I'll stop now. The next chapter already has 2000 words though, and I think you guys will really like that one. It has the moment that you've all been waiting for. I shall say no more.

**Many thanks to: jainga, crazymel2008 **(Hey! Again, I'm so sorry it took so long. Hope you didn't find it too dissapointing though), **azuyama-chan, miss koneko, Shadow Eclipse, Moons-chan, zeroseconds, Aoi Faith, ONIX-21, Lewnnuhhkau, canadianviolet **(LOL I love the Mai/Naru interactions too, but if Naru wasn't such an expressionless person, they wouldn't be so difficult to write in my opinion. People probably do like Ayami because she is so nice to Mai. To Ayami, Mai is the only true family she has ever had and Mai has this sort of innocence that Ayami would do anything to protect. I just love that Mai has such a powerful ally; makes her special. LOL the Raidon/Ayami relationship will be hinted more and more as the story progresses. Don't worry ;) You'll find out soon.), **Ariana Taniyama, DazzleMeRose, SimplyChristine, syNemYoA, Ayjah, luna-moongoddess, Gabryell-P, Otaku Nayami, Sajuri-Jen, Ginny-cry, bladzesword, JELLOGIRL323, **and **sammycrusinix.**


	4. Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Chapter 4 Good Cop, Bad Cop**

_

* * *

Day 3_

* * *

Mai wasn't even sure what had happened next.

Just a minute ago, she'd been lying in bed, dreaming. And now, she was sitting on her bedroom floor, tangled in her own bed sheets as the eyes of a corpse stared down at her from the bed.

Mai hadn't even been aware of herself screaming until Ayami appeared beside her. Her cousin crouched down towards her on the floor and reached out to her gently.

"Mai, calm down," Ayami said sharply, her tone a complete contrast to her gestures. "Look at me—"

"Ayami!" Mai sobbed. Her heartbeat thrashed wildly and she grabbed her cousin's arms, needing a true grasp of reality, no matter what it was. "There's a—"

"I know, Mai," Ayami countered. "But I need you to stop."

Mai couldn't calm down. How could she? There was a person lying in her bed and he'd just been robbed of his life. Nothing, not even a miracle, could probably bring this person back. Mai gasped. "There's someone in my bed. He's dead, Ayami."

"Shh…" Ayami soothed. Her cousin held onto her arms gently but Mai didn't feel secure. She grabbed hold of Ayami's arms, unable to let go of the panic that seemed to have permanently set itself in her heart.

"Listen to me, Mai. You're not breathing. I need you to breathe, okay?"

Mai couldn't calm down. Her heart's rates didn't lessen at all. Mai felt another shadow loom over her suddenly, but before she had a chance to even react to it, Ayami dragged her to her feet.

"Dav—Shibuya-san! Watch Mai," Ayami said sharply. Her cousin literally thrust her into Naru's arms before she moved forward to shield them both from the body on the bed. Mai gasped again, then her panic increased when she realised that her throat seemed to have cut off. Naru pulled her against him gently and Mai felt her pulse subside slightly when she realised that he was here now too, with her. She didn't know why that calmed her down, but it did.

"Shh…" Naru murmured, his lips against her ear. "It's alright now."

Mai's heart didn't stop thudding, yet odd relief came to her when she heard that statement from Naru. His voice soothed her more than Ayami's words ever had and Mai stopped, trying her best to match her breathing with his. Naru patted her head comfortingly as he pushed Mai towards his chest and for a moment, she felt as though nothing could ever harm her again.

Then, after a moment which seemed to stretch to eternity yet last only a second, he leant back slowly, careful not to disturb her, and Naru looked down at her.

"Are you alright?"

Mai nodded quickly, her mind crashing back towards reality and she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her flannel pyjamas. Before she touched her own face, however, Naru stopped her and offered her a tissue on the bed side bench. Mai used that instead and then turned over to look at her cousin again, who had moved on to observe the person on her bed. Mai knew that Naru was probably itching to join her cousin but for some reason, he elected to stay beside her instead.

Ayami looked up and her eyes shot directly into Mai's. For a moment, Mai was startled by the expression that her cousin held for her; there, for once, was no twinkle in her eye or laughter in her expression. Every detail of her face told Mai that Ayami was deadly serious on this topic and she was about to get down to business.

"I will need to get rid of the evidence. We cannot leave the body in your bed and connect you to the murder in anyway. Just tell me first, Mai; did you touch the body?"

Mai's mind blanked out. What did she mean when she said 'get rid of the evidence? And why would it matter if Mai had touched the person?

Mai voiced her question vocally.

"We can't connect you to any other murder. Already, in the last case, you found the body of a girl that had been burnt alive. If you're found sleeping next to a body again this time, what are the police going to think?"

Was this getting where she thought it was? "But I didn't do anything," Mai pointed out.

Ayami clearly thought that didn't matter. "They don't think that, Mai. And if _you _risk the exposure of the Five to public media, then the Wycombes have the right to interfere in your life and a one thousand year old agreement allows them to do whatever it takes to hide the truth."

Naru's face was expressionless but Mai could tell that he was a little loss too. "Who are the Wycombes?" he asked.

"The last of the Five," Ayami answered impatiently. "They believe that it is their divine duty to ensure that the existence of psychics and blue-bloods are kept from public knowledge. That's why we have to make sure that Mai isn't connected to this case."

Still, Mai didn't get it. Was this the politics of the Five? She didn't know, but from what Mai remembered dimly, Ayami, even as the leader of the Caecilius Clan, had never met the Wycombes before. How did she know that they were dangerous then?

"Mai doesn't need to hear this right now," Naru said. His voice lashed out with a direct cut and Mai almost grimaced. Oh, God. They were going to argue, weren't they? And at a time like this too. Perfect.

"I don't expect Mai to know of the importance of this but you've been involved with the Five in the past, Shibuya Kazuya. You have to know that we will not allow a thousand year old tradition to be broken by one person, and the Wycombes themselves are fanatical and obsessive individuals. There is no way that they will allow for Mai to expose us to the media. And if she does, the only way to save her is to override this law and to do that I would need the siding of two other leaders—"

"The matters of the Five reside with you. As far as I'm concerned, it's not Mai's problem."

"Nor is it yours, yet I see you butting yourself in my business anyway."

They glared stubbornly at one another and now Mai felt like sighing. Somehow, in the middle of all this, her cousin and employer and managed to get themselves into a disagreement.

Then, disgusted, her cousin snorted and turned away from Naru. Ayami's eyes softened just a little bit when she took in Mai's appearance, which Mai suspected, was actually quite grubby.

"Get out of your current clothing, Mai. I need to burn it. Fabia, Pinaria," she called out gently, and immediately, two women seemed to materialise by her cousin's side. Mai held back a gasp when she realised that these women were Ayami's familiars – just like _Caecilia_ had been. With the minimal light, Mai could barely make out their features, but even from here, she could tell that both women were rather tall and were bowing respectfully at Ayami.

Her cousin didn't even look at them.

"You know what to do," she said calmly.

"Yes, domina," the women acknowledged, their heads still bowed in submission. Mai watched in morbid fascination as they then walked over to her bed.

Naru took a step forward. "What are you doing?" he asked sharply. "They're demons. And we don't know how that man died. If your demons touch him—"

"I'm willing to risk it," Ayami interjected coolly. "Mai, get out of your pyjamas."

Mai didn't move. "What's Naru talking about?" she asked. Mai didn't know what had Naru reacting like that, but whatever it was, she had a feeling that it wasn't good.

Ayami rolled her eyes impatiently. Then, almost as though it were on cue, sirens sounded from a distance and shortly after that, blue and red lights shone from the window by the front of the inn. Ayami but back a curse.

"I don't have time for this," Ayami said impatiently. Her eyes turned back to both of them. "Mai, get out of your pyjamas," she repeated. Then, she turned her eyes to Naru. "Both of you go downstairs now and join the other crowd. I'll deal with the scene up here."

Naru wasn't moved. "What are you going to do with the body?"

"The cops will have to find the body now, or do you think that they won't notice a bright, shining white light that will suddenly blaze from this room?" Ayami snapped.

Mai blinked, suddenly aware that this went a lot deeper than she thought. Never had she seen Ayami so out of element before. Her cousin was normally so suave that she forgot what it would be like for the other girl to worry. Her cousin wasn't disturbed by the fact that someone had died, though. Clearly, something else was bothering her instead.

At Ayami's words, the two demon familiars dimmed out of sight, fading as though they had never been there in the first place. Naru didn't respond to Ayami's words. He still looked carefully emotionless as he turned over to Mai instead.

"You've calmed down now. Get some clothes," he told Mai. "You'll have to get dressed in my room."

Mai nodded. She was still relatively confused about what was going on. What on Earth could Ayami do if she remained? But she didn't even try to question her, as her cousin had already flipped open a cell phone and was now speaking in a rapid dash of English to whoever it was who was on the other line. Clearly, her recipient didn't mind being awaken at 1.00AM in the morning.

When they got out to the hallway, Mai questioned Naru immediately.

"What's going on?" Mai asked. "And who was in that bed with me?"

Naru didn't pause in his walk, nor did his grip on her arm lessen at all. "We have suspected that you might have become a target of whatever it is that haunts this inn. Clearly, we weren't wrong."

We? "You mean you and Ayami, right? That's what you guys were doing before, weren't you?"

His eyes turned to her quickly, though he didn't respond. Then, Mai realised that they had stopped and that they were now standing outside of Naru's room.

"We have to join everyone else downstairs or it will look strange if we're not there. Go in and take a shower. You have three minute before I go in after you."

Mai had never been one of those girls that took forever putting clothes on, but with Naru's warning, she showered and dressed even quicker than usual. She didn't even spare herself a glance in the mirror as she redressed into unstained clothing. Mai did notice, however, that the pyjamas she'd left on the bathroom floor seemed to have vanished. Had one of Ayami's familiars collected it while she'd been in the shower?

Mai shivered at the thought and exited the room quickly.

Naru wasn't standing outside the door where she'd left him though, so Mai made way down stairs on her own.

As she'd moved so fast before, Mai hadn't even had a chance to recollect her thoughts. Being alone again scared her a little, especially when she remembered the body that she'd been sleeping beside. Still now, the image of that person's eyes still burnt into her mind. Mai might not have known that person but she knew that she would remember their face forever. It had been horrifying, really, and her dreams before that had been as elusive as ever. Mai wasn't naïve enough to think that the two events weren't linked to one another.

_Don't tell them anything, Mai. Or you'll be sorry._

It had been a warning. From Yukito-chan. But had he been the one to bring the body in? Mai hoped he hadn't, but at the same time, the chances of that were slim. Too many things had happened simultaneously for her to believe otherwise.

Lost in thought as she was, Mai didn't even realise that she'd reached the main corridor of the inn now. Various other guests donned night gowns as they stood in the hallway, wondering what all the fuss was about. Uniformed police officers seemed to crowd the inn and Mai paused, realising that they must have known that someone had died.

A shadow suddenly appeared over her and startled, Mai looked up. She recognised the face of Detective Kaito, someone she'd met in the previous case when she'd discovered a burnt corpse. Beside him stood Detective Ichinose, looking incredibly sober as he looked down at Mai pityingly. She felt two other police officers surround her from behind and Mai's mind blanked out. What was going on?

Then, with a vindictive triumph in his eyes, Detective Kaito faced her. "Taniyama Mai: you're under arrest for the alleged murder of Mizuki Seito. You have the right to remain silent as all words spoken here and now can be used as testimony against you in the court of law."

This could not be real: it was like a scene right out of the movies. Mai watched, horrified, as handcuffs pressed over one of her wrists. From a distance, she could see Naru trying to make way through the crowd, Ayami pressing close behind him.

And then, before she'd even gotten a chance to call for help, she was taken away.

* * *

Mai was nervous.

Well, actually, truth to be told, she was a little more than nervous; she was tense, anxious, and rather close to panicking. Just an hour ago, Mai had woken up beside a body, and now, she was stuck in a police interrogation room – or whatever they called it – waiting to be committed for a crime that she hadn't even conducted.

Why did it always happen to her? In the last case, Mai had been hurled to the police station – or 'human pound', as Ayami liked to put it – because she'd found the corpse of a girl that had been buried alive. In this case, she'd actually woken up _next_ to a body. And she didn't even want to know how this person had died, really. Just remembering her experience brought goose bumps to Mai's skin.

But then, she probably shouldn't panic as much. Mai knew that Naru and Ayami would definitely come for her. All she had to do at the moment was wait for them to come.

Brightening slightly at the thought, she turned to have a better look at the room, just as the door opened and Detective Kaito and Detective Ichinose walked in with a man that she didn't recognise.

Kaito and Ichinose had been the police officers that had dealt with Mai during the last case too, which had surprised her, since she hadn't thought that they were from this region. Mai still remembered the strange questions Detective Kaito had asked Mai the morning after her visit to the station.

The man that Mai didn't recognise stepped forward and looked down at her, unsmiling. "Taniyama Mai. My name is Yamamoto and I am the Chief here. You're cousin has enlightened me to this predicament. You have friends very high up, young lady."

Mai frowned. What was that supposed to mean? And did he say that Ayami had called him?

"You've spoken to my cousin?" Mai asked.

The Chief nodded. "Your cousin has already pleaded to four different courts for your immediate release and she's had an army of lawyers raining down on me before you even entered the station. Your employer seems to also have contacted several politicians high up in the system to pressure our station. Clearly, you're well taken care of, Taniyama-san."

Mai didn't know what to say. Ayami and Naru clearly made quite the team when they worked together. Mai hadn't even known that Naru was that influential. Sure, she knew that Ayami wasn't what she seemed – her mysterious acquaintance, Raimon Mimisaki, was a billionaire after all – but Naru? Mai had always thought that he was just a paranormal researcher with professors as parents.

Detective Ichinose turned to the Chief. "Chief, let me have a few moments with her. We need to get the interrogation underway before Domjouji gets here."

The Chief paused and Mai could tell that he was clearly torn. His hesitance probably had to do with his reluctance to get on the wrong side of his superior, whilst deep down he knew that traditional protocol had to be kept for all cases. While Mai understood his predicament, she didn't appreciate being the one that was being judged here and now. Finally, the man nodded and quickly exited the room, leaving Mai alone with Detective Kaito and Detective Ichinose, who had yet to even talk. He did give Mai a brief smile, however, which told Mai that she had at least one ally in here.

Detective Kaito wasted no time at all. "We received a call which stated that you, Taniyama Mai, were seen with Mizuki Seito right before he died. Can you tell us what you were doing with him and why you were there?"

Mai didn't quite understand him. "Someone told you that I was with him?" she blinked twice. "That's not right – I _woke _up and he was lying beside me. I don't even know what was going on." Mai told them what had happened. How she had woken up with him sleeping beside her. She didn't know if they'd found this person – Mizuki Seito – after Ayami had finished with him, so she didn't tell them about her cousin or Naru's barging into her room.

Detective Kaito didn't seem to believe her. "Then why didn't you call the police immediately? We must have arrived around the same time you discovered that body. Instead, you went off to do whatever you did and you didn't even tell anyone about what happened. Our forensics theorised that Mizuki must have died about an hour ago."

And how could she explain that Ayami had stopped her? If she said anything, it would have put Ayami under suspicion instead and Mai knew for a fact that her cousin was unrelated to this murder.

"Does Domjouji have anything to do with this?" Detective Kaito asked, seeming to have read her mind.

Mai shook her head, but that only caused the officer to snort. "Somehow I doubt that," he told her.

Mai turned up sharply. "What's that supposed to men?" she asked.

Kaito shrugged. "Domjouji Ayami is one of the richest heiresses in the southern hemisphere. The fortune that she is set to inherit when she turns twenty-one is enough to buy a small country. Everyone wants to be her friend, and I've known a lot of rich kids like her in the past. They think they rule the world and all. Tell me you didn't know that your cousin is the influential female teenager in the southern hemisphere, Taniyama-san."

Mai hadn't known that, but she wanted to keep Ayami off the topic. She didn't want her cousin to get involved in this at all. It would probably do well for her to change the topic.

"Why do you suspect me anyway?" Mai asked. "I don't have any reason to harm him and I don't even know him. Why would I want to hurt him?"

Kaito snorted. "Wherever Oliver Davis goes, injuries and murders follow. You're employed in his wake; don't you think I know that you'd be involved in this little crusade now?"

Mai's mind blanked. "Excuse me?"

The detective's eyes widened just a little in a more than mocking manner. "The one you call Shibuya Kazuya. Don't tell me, Taniyama-san, that you don't know that his real name is Oliver Davis? Shibuya Kazuya is just a title he adopted for business in Japan."

Mai's mind dimmed. Oliver Davis. Why did that name sound so familiar? Then, it dawned to her: Oliver Davis had been the famous European professor that Bou-san idolised. Apparently, this man was an incredibly powerful psychic that was almost a celebrity overseas. The officers must have mistaken; there was no way Naru was related to this man. For starters, Oliver was a western name and Naru was quite clearly Japanese.

"I think you've made a mistake," Mai told him.

Detective Ichinose moved forward, speaking for the first time since she'd come in. "Shibuya Kazuya does also go by the name Oliver Davis, Taniyama-san. Shibuya Kazuya had been his birth name, but after he and his brother, Eugene, were adopted by the Davises, they were given Western names and a new identity instead. Apparently, he decided to reuse his birth name when he re-entered Japan."

Mai's mind blanked. Somehow, it made sense, but she wasn't quite catching it. Naru was Oliver Davis? It couldn't be; he was Shibuya Kazuya. He had no reason to change his name like that. And why would he have lied to them for that long? Surely if he _had _been someone so famous, one of them would have figured it out by now. Bou-san for one was apparently a fan of the professor too. And Ayami –

Mai paused, her mind reeling. Ayami. Her cousin had always placed a heavy emphasis on his name, almost as though she were mocking him. Could she have known? Could it be true then? Mai remembered Masako mentioning once, a year back, that Naru had a secret and she knew it. Was this it?

Oh, god.

Something in her snapped at that realisation. Suddenly, so many things made sense now. Naru's dislike for the media; his high-funded equipment; his absence from school; even his parents had to have been professors too, or he couldn't have had obtained that title at such a young age. Mai couldn't believe it.

"The fact that you've been involved in two recent murders—" Detective Kaito stopped in midsentence and his eyes snapped behind her. Mai turned over too, just to realise that the door was now open and her cousin was standing by it.

Kaito swore. "Domjouji; you should know that you're not allowed to be in here."

Her cousin huffed indignantly and moved to stand next to Mai. "You were saying?" she drawled.

"You aren't authorised to come in here, Domjouji. Get out, or we'll have our officers escort you out."

"And I happen to know that it is illegal for you to come strutting in here like this and arrest someone without proof. Do I need to add that no evidence whatsoever convicts Mai towards the crime? On what a ground is this arrest held for, because I assure you, my lawyers are already along the way, and if there is not a legitimate reason for this, I will personally ensure that _you _are held solely responsible for this act."

"This is not the first time that her name has linked to a murder in a phenomenal crime."

"No, but the crimes do generally occur wherever I go too yet I do not see swamps of police officers ready to arrest _me._"

The officer bit back another curse. Ayami had to know that because of whom she was, no one was going to question her unless they knew for a fact that she was truly going down and they had the backing of an even _more_ powerful figure.

And the debate flew on. Detective Kaito didn't seem ready to give up and Mai knew for a fact that her cousin wasn't going to give in. The man beside Ayami looked ready to sigh and many times, Mai saw that he was about to butt in but Ayami was always quicker than him to respond.

"I don't think you quite get it," Ayami said, her tone telling Mai that she was incredibly peeved. "My taxes alone in Japan fund your entire department. And the ten million US dollars donated yearly by the Mimisaki family to your government will fluctuate depending on the outcome of this event. Tell me now: when will Mai be released?"

The man snorted. "The more you threaten, Domjouji, the better reason we have to keep her here. Besides, with Mimisaki's latest lost in the stock market, it's not as though he'd be able to buy his way into the government anyway.."

"Oh, please. You must know the heir of the Mimisaki family better than that. He's just splurged twenty million at Sotheby's just to prove that he could. You think he really needed the Picasso and Monet that he purchased? If his stocks drop at the moment, it's because he's trying to lower his value so that his competitors will undermine his company. Not that you'd be able to understand that anyway." Ayami crossed her arms. "Now, why don't you go back to eating your donuts and on your way out, lead me to your Chief so that I may have a word or two with him."

Detective Kaito glared witheringly at Ayami and her cousin smiled back at her sweetly. The man beside Ayami sighed, almost as though he were so used to her antics that he didn't know what he could possibly do now to avoid them. Detective Ichinose didn't look overly impressed either. Then, Kaito took a step back and shuffled haughtily over to the door. Ayami smirked and moved over to follow him, just before casting Mai a slight smile. All four of them left the room and Mai watched them go before realising that there had been one more person in the room, just hidden behind Ayami and her guest. He'd been so quiet that she hadn't even known that she was there.

Naru.

And now Mai was stuck in the same room with her employer.

And she was annoyed at him.

Grand.

* * *

15.12.2008: Okay, I am so sorry for being off with the next update. Originally, I meant for this chapter to be about 2500 words but by the end of it, it stretched pass 4000 words. And I ended up spending so much time shopping instead. I am in debt, guys. Serious, serious debt. LOL okay, hope you liked this chapter. Ayami was a but more of a bitch, as usual. And I hope you enjoyed the Naru part.

Many thanks to: **bladzesword, SimplyChristine, Moons-chan, lurkmoar, Shadow Eclipse, ONIX-21, Ayjah, crazymel2008, Gabryell-P, azuyama-chan, canadianviolet (**LOL I won't tell you anything about Mai and her 'help' but yes, Ayami truly does need to sort out her priorities. She does worry about the wrong things, doesn't she? I don't know about being a horror writer; lol, I like writing the other themes too. Fantasy and Supernatural are my favourite themes though. If you read Eternus, you'll get a more 'me' themed story), **Ariana Taniyama, luna-moongoddess, syNemYoA, miss koneko, Aoi Faith, Tomato-Vampire-Countess, **and **Twilight Journey.**


	5. Truth

**Chapter 5 Truth**

* * *

The detective, chief and Ayami had left the room with Ayami, leaving only Naru and Mai behind. Apparently, it wasn't conventional for them to be in the same room and the detective had suggested that there should be another police officer here too, but when Ayami had cast a withering glare, the lawyer had pulled the detective aside and the man had agreed to whatever it was that had been said. Detective Kaito seemed to be reserving his arguments for elsewhere.

It had been several minutes now and Naru was still standing there, right by the door. He had to have known that she knew; the conversation had to have taken place moments before Ayami entered the room and if he hadn't known, he would have spoken to her before now already. Mai couldn't stand the silence, but at the same time, she felt incredibly bitter towards him.

"So you're Oliver Davis."

Naru over at her, uncharacteristically impatient and Mai felt a keen stab of annoyance. Why was he the one exasperated when it was her that had been lied to for almost two years?

"You don't have to provide any menial talk just to keep the words flowing," Naru said swiftly.

"Well I suppose we could just sit here in bleak silence since that's what you prefer," Mai said. "Because that's just so much better, you know."

"Sarcasm doesn't become of you, Mai."

His words made her snap. "Then what would you rather me do, Naru?"

His navy eyes bore right into hers and Mai saw as his façade of calmness returned. It annoyed her even more when she saw how easygoing he was being about this conversation when he clearly knew that she was being emotional.

"Are you acting this way because you found out that my name is Oliver Davis?" Naru's voice inquired coolly. "It's just a name, Mai."

Mai fumed. There was never a 'just' to anyone's name. A name signified everything about a person. Where they came from; what they were – even who they represented. Mai had known him for almost two years and she didn't know what his true name was. What did that say about everything? About his trust, their relationship (if they actually had one), and even his thoughts of her. And of all people that could have told her, it had to have been Detective Kaito. Lin-san must have known; after all, he had been sent as Naru's guardian. Ayami had known, and Mai had a feeling that Bou-san had worked it out too. The monk had initially idolised Oliver Davis, but after some time, the adoration had worn off. Now Mai knew why.

Why hadn't any of them thought to tell her?

It made her feel so small, so insignificant, knowing that she was such a small factor in his life that he couldn't even make way around telling her what his real name was. Mai shook her head, though she did manage a slight smile. There was a terrible pitch of disappointment sitting at the bottom of her stomach. She didn't like that it was there but she couldn't make it go away.

"I can trust you with my life and _you _can't even trust me with your name."

"If you trusted me the way you claimed, you would have listened to me when I told you to tell me what you dream of," Naru replied. His voice strained and he seemed to be putting an effort into being civilised. Mai felt a sadistic pleasure in knowing that his calm wasn't as perfect as it seemed.

"Why do you expect me to tell you everything when you've been lying to me from the very beginning?"

"It's a name, Mai," Naru repeated, and again, he seemed emotional. He was a cross between exasperation and annoyance, as though he didn't understand why she was reacting this way.

"It's not just a name or you wouldn't have been so adamant about using something else," Mai replied. She couldn't believe how hurt she felt and she was angry at herself for feeling that way. Naru didn't understand why she was so angry. It wasn't just the name, though: it was the trust embedded with that knowledge. "You didn't trust me, or any one of us, to know your real name." She couldn't tell him that it made her feel so small, so unimportant to him, when she learnt this truth. Mai was stronger than that.

"And have you trusted me?" Naru retaliated. His voice was cool and cutting. "You never tell me about your dreams and I always learn of them from Bou-san, Lin, or if my luck is substantially pressing that day, _your cousin_. You say that you trust me with your life yet you can't even trust to tell me what's wrong in your life."

Her jaw dropped at his declaration. "That's different," Mai replied, then she winced when she realised how lame that excused sounded. It _was _different though.

"Oh?" Naru challenged, sounding every bit like an obnoxious teenager. "And how is it different?"

"Because you don't care about me but _I _care about you."

The words were out before she could stop them and Mai couldn't believe that she had said it. Now, there was a silence that seemed to stretch for eternity weighing them down and Naru just stared at her for a moment. For the first time in her life, she realised that she had probably rendered him speechless.

Mai exhaled once, the adrenaline from her argument evaporating as she suddenly realised just how tired she was now. Part of her hadn't even realised that what she said was untrue. Naru did care for her, just not in the way that she cared about him. She didn't bother correcting herself though and selfishly let the reply hang in the air. For once, Mai had silenced him, though she didn't think she liked the way in which she'd done it.

The door suddenly burst open and Mai caught sight of her cousin and the lawyer that had entered before. Ayami stood there, her face imperiously unimpressed as she ignored the person next to her. The lawyer smiled once at Mai in a rather friendly manner and turned over and spoke to Ayami again. Her cousin nodded once, rather curtly, before turning to look back at them in the room.

"We're leaving," Ayami said brusquely. Mai nodded and quickly stood up.

Mai had already said something slightly embarrassing and she had no desire to continue this conversation with Naru.

Not now at least.

* * *

She ended up sleeping the day away.

As soon as Mai had gotten back to the inn, she'd stomped right off to her room. Then, she'd remembered that her room had been sealed off and Mai had ended up setting herself up in Ayami's room instead. Only when Mai was sure that everyone was asleep did she make way out of the room to look for food. She knew that she was being a little childish, chucking a royal snit with Naru, but a part of her really couldn't believe what had happened.

Naru had lied to her for two years. She knew that he was secretive but Mau had never suspected that he would lie to them. And about whom he was, of all things.

Mai had been amazed that no one had tried to wake her up, but as she'd pretty much ended all with Naru, Mai wouldn't have been surprised if he fired her right after the case.

Then, Mai suddenly felt ashamed for thinking that. Naru had lied to her about who he was, but his actions and thoughts were genuine. He wasn't the type of person to dismiss someone just because he didn't like them. Naru might have lied, but overall, he was a good person.

On her way back, Mai stopped, realising that there was light coming from beneath one of the sitting rooms. Hearing her cousin's voice, Mai moved towards the lounge. Ayami was on the phone. Mai moved to leave her cousin in peace, but when she heard her name, she delayed, moving to stand back at the door.

"…you hold a grudge against Mai because of who her parents were? Do you really want me to go high up in the political constitution?" Ayami drawled. "I know for a fact that you're already getting pressured from above. With a wife, two kids, and a mortgage to handle, you can't afford to lose your job. I don't care if you work for the Wycombes, or if you're a squire of the Five. Push the wrong buttons, Kaito, and I will see to it that you pay dearly."

Mai frowned, now moving closer to the door. She swore that she'd heard Detective Kaito's name mentioned in the last passage there. Her cousin, however, had paused to let the other side talk.

"Don't be obtuse. And don't call Mimisaki 'The Patriarch' unless you're willing to call me the 'First Lady', and since I don't like being called the 'First Lady', you'd better not call me that. Besides, Mimisaki doesn't care about what you do; he's too busy bedding that American heiress whose father he's going to break in the next month."

Mai blinked. She wasn't serious. There was no way she was serious. Did she just spit out Mimisaki's secrets like that? Mai didn't know what relationship her cousin and Raidon had, but no one appreciated being spoken of like that.

Then again, this was Mimisaki Ayami was talking about. Mai sighed, realising just how little she also knew about her cousin. Her cousin wasn't normally overly bitter, but when she spoke of her friend – and Mai used that term loosely – she was overly pessimistic and unflattering.

It took Mai awhile, but she eventually realised that Ayami had fallen silent on the other end. Mai almost turned away, not quite feeling as though she were in the mood to talk to anyone. But then, it felt so strange, going back to being alone. Mai didn't want to return to her room and think; it would be nice to be in someone's company – anyone's company, actually – as long as that person wasn't Naru.

Her cousin eventually made the choice for her by calling out to Mai from the other side of the door. When Mai got into the lounge, she noted that Ayami was still wearing the same outfit and expression as this morning. Her cousin sat elegantly on the sofa, and for once, there were no alcohol bottles around her.

"Don't tell me you're not talking to me either," Ayami said wryly, which told Mai that her cousin wasn't in a good mood either. Mai shrugged and sat down on the couch beside her. It had been such a long time since Mai had been angry at someone – and never had she been _this _angry at _anyone _– that Mai almost didn't know what to do. She did know, though, that she didn't feel like trivial talk. On most days, she revered in it; today, she didn't want to say anything, because that 'anything' might just be the thing to set her off.

"You knew, didn't you?" Mai asked her.

Ayami shrugged casually. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. Of course I knew; it's me, after all."

That response shouldn't have startled her, but it did anyway. Ayami had always kept secrets; was it really so surprising that she had kept this one too?

"I did think you'd tell me, or did you want to hold it over his head like Masako?"

"Admittedly, I would hold it over his head if the opportunity arose, but I didn't tell you because it's none of my business," Ayami replied evenly. "Just because you're angry at him does not mean you take it out on me. Besides, to be fair, you can't exactly blame Davis on this one."

Mai shot a look back at Ayami. "You're defending Naru?"

Again, her cousin shrugged nonchalantly. "Someone has to. I might not like him but I know you do."

"He's a liar," Mai replied flatly.

"So am I."

Mai felt her temper rising. "I know, Ayami. You've both lied to me from the start about something, haven't you? I just didn't take Naru to be a liar too."

"He came to Japan with a purpose, Mai, just like me. If he had to hide himself to manage it, you can't really blame that on him. And why are you overreacting like this, anyway? Don't you normally go overly optimistic later on, anyway? This phase will pass." Shrug. "You have in the past."

"I _do _try as hard as I can to be optimistic about it, but normally, I feel as though you don't think I'm able to handle what comes this way."

"That's the way life is."

"How could you even say that?" Mai asked. Her disbelief rang clearly even in her own ears. She didn't know them at all, yet they were the two people she cared most about in her entire life. They knew almost everything about her yet she didn't know them at all. Mai let out a laugh, one mixed slightly with disbelief.

"We don't tell you certain things so you won't be burdened with them," Ayami replied to Mai evenly. "And even I cannot say that I blame Shibuya Kazuya in this prospective."

"You don't blame him for this because you did the exact same thing he did," Mai replied. She tried not to be so cutting, but today, she didn't think that she could handle any more information. Not this way, anyway.

"Everyone has secrets, Mai."

"I don't," Mai answered. And she didn't.

"Oh? Then tell me you told Shibuya Kazuya about the tattoo. Tell me if miko-san knows that you're a blue-blooded psychic." Mai couldn't argue with her response and Ayami let out a dry, humourless smile. "Like I said, everyone has secrets, Mai. We just all hide them in different ways."

"I admit then: that was the wrong thing to say. But what about you? You're my cousin; the only family I have. I trust you with everything and you know I tell you everything. I don't ask you to the same back, but sometimes I feel as though you don't trust me at all. You never share your problems with me; you just come in and help me with everything. It's a two-way deal, Ayami."

Her cousin breathed in once and Mai could see her barrier of ice chipping away slowly. It bit at her guilt, slightly, when she remembered that Ayami had always been so good to her. This wasn't the way that she should have – or the way she normally would have – approached it, but Mai couldn't stop the words coming out.

Then, Ayami opened her mouth and the words that came out were gentle, almost soothing, and Mai hadn't known that her cousin had it in her to be so serene. "I don't tell you because you couldn't help me anyway."

"And how do you know I can't help you? How do you think it feels to know that everyone in your life hide things from you?"

"Welcome to the way in which I grew up," Ayami said drolly. "I don't tell you about myself because I don't want you weighed down by the ties of the Caecilius Clan."

Mai almost rolled her eyes. Her calm had been returning for a moment, but now, she almost felt like an obnoxious teenager. Ayami was always going on and on about how dark the Caecilius Clan was – how _dangerous _the Five was. They existed in the 21st century; although Mai knew that there were dangers in this world, she doubted that they played right into it the way her cousin claimed.

"It can't be that bad," Mai said. "And you're not that bad of a person, Ayami. I don't know why you always say that. I know you're not perfect and you're not always thinking of everyone, but you're not a bad person," Mai insisted.

Now, her cousin's smile was cynical. Something about the way she drew her face told Mai that this was a topic she pondered on often. "Not that bad, am I?" Smirk. "You're cute, Mai. Really. You must be the first person who would ever say that the Imperial First Lady of the Caecilius Clan isn't 'bad'. This entire clan is cursed and dark. We are not good people and we never will be." Her eyes snapped up at Mai for a moment, cold, hard, and almost unfeeling. This reminded Mai of the way she had looked when they found out that she was a psychic just two months ago, but this time, there was something deeper in her expression. Something ruthless.

"My own mother sold me to the House of Alexandria to gain an alliance when I was five. I overthrew her power when I was fifteen and drove her insane, forcing her abdication so that I could become the First Lady instead. I exiled my sister less than one month later and before I met you, I'd intended to use you in my war against Mimisaki Raidon. I have never claimed to be a good person, and I'm not one. You have no idea what blue-blooded psychics are capable of doing to one another. I don't tell you about it so that you can be free of this god-cursed clan. The only reason why I trust to let you in now is because I am the only one left in it. I don't want to be in this clan; I don't want _you_ to be burdened by problems that have weighed me down for my entire life. If you know half the things that I've done, you'd run so fast the other way, there'd be no chance of me catching you.

"When I say that I am a bad person, believe me that in context, I am speaking with euphemism."

Mai stopped, realising that she was being irrational. She really didn't know what the Caecilius Clan was like – that was true – and she knew that Naru had come here for his brother. Could she really blame them for trying to protect her? In a way, what Ayami said was true; the Five were dangerous and Mai couldn't protect herself against them. Her meeting with Mimisaki Raidon not long ago had been a prime example. If it hadn't been for Naru, Mai knew that the event would have ended a lot differently. Ayami's ties with Raidon had helped her, of course, but at the same time, if her cousin hadn't been so secretive about Raidon in the first place, would Mai have been alerted to his danger?

And Naru. His brother was his priority. It wasn't as though he'd hidden his name just to be spiteful. Could she really blame him for that, even when she knew that Gene needed Naru to find him? Now, she felt ashamed. Naru had enough on his dish without her adding to it. True, she had been hurt, but he had his reasons. And she knew what Naru was like – he didn't see her the same way she saw him, so could she really blame him for not telling her?

"I'm sorry," Mai said finally. "It's just both of you hide things from me. I know you do, but it's different with Naru because although I've always known that he has secrets, I didn't think that he would hide his own name."

"Don't be sorry. What you think is true. I do hide things from people, you in particular, but I don't tell you for your own good. I'm sure Davis has his reasons too, Mai. You just have to give him a chance." Ayami looked back at Mai and for a moment there, her cousin's emerald green eyes pierced right into Mai's soul. For a moment, Mai felt as though she were entirely exposed before Ayami; it was as though her cousin knew, and was aware, of everything Mai felt and thought.

"If you had any idea what Davis or I have witnessed in our lifetimes, you'd never see us in the same way again. Nor would you see life in the same way." Ayami's expression remained serene, which told Mai that her cousin put in an effort to maintain her façade.

"Keep your innocence, Mai. God help us, because we lost ours a long time ago."

* * *

**8th January, 2008: **I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. I actually finished it awhile ago but I haven't had the time to update it. Your Christmas gifts are still due soon, though. But yeah, I'll get to it (I hope). I was actually going to exclude the Ayami conversation, because that passage relates specifically to the second story, but yeah, it's there. This chapter did not move on with the story line at all, though, but as it was already 3500 words, I figured I'd just add the other parts to the next chapter. Anyway, hope you all had a Happy New Year!

**Many thanks to: syNemYoa, SimplyChristine, Aoi Faith, crazymel2008 **(hey, sorry the taking so long to update. Hope the chapter didn't dissapoint you.)**, Moons-chan, Skyz-Angels, Gabryell-P, bladzesword, azuyama-chan, canadianviolet **(LOL I loved the way your mind worked with Ayami and Kaito. It's true though: Ayami is arrogant and she's overly confident; if she doesn't want to be liked, she switches off her charm and makes sure that people dislike her. Ayami's familiars aren't too bad, I think. Very ghost-like though, and they're all women. You actually get to learn about her familiars in the last story of this series. I won't tell you much, but you learn about Caecilia's history too. Cheers!)**, ONIX-21, Ariana Taniyama, Anonymous **(I'm sorry it took so long to update; I think I get slacker when I'm on holidays because I'm never home to write my stories. But yes, I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far), **Twilight Journey, miss koneko, Ayjah, LucyMint, sammycrusinix, luna-moongoddess, CagedHeart, **and **Nic0la-2008.**


	6. Decoy

**Chapter 6 Decoy**

It would have been in the early hours of the morning that when Mai decided to move again. She was still in the lounge that Ayami had left her in. It had been three hours and she was still in this room. Mai wasn't even sure what she was waiting for. She hadn't even thought after her cousin had left; Mai's mind had been whirling in several pools of thought.

Had she been selfish? Mai knew that she had been a little. She'd only looked at everything through her own point of view. Not once had she stopped think what it would be like to be in Naru's or Ayami's shoes. They _had _tried to protect her: could she really fault them for that? Mai definitely disagreed with their highhanded manners, but at the same time, she guessed this was the only way Naru and Ayami knew how to protect anyone. After all, the two were a lot more alike than they would care to admit.

That didn't mean that she stopped feeling annoyed, of course, but Mai wanted to be the better person. Or she could at least try. It wouldn't be hard for her to push aside her personal feelings and look at the bigger picture, would it? It would have been incredibly selfish of her not to try. Ayami had always told Mai the truth when Mai asked her directly. That, or she'd blatantly respond with her disinterest in the topic. And her latest explanation about the Caecilius Clan had shook Mai to the core. Could Mai really be angry at her, especially with what her cousin had been through? Her cousin loved her, after all, and if Mai cared for them, that really should have been all that mattered.

Not with Naru, though, Mai thought with a slight huff. With him, she was still annoyed. It was petty, but even though Mai wasn't quite as hurt or angry anymore, she was still most definitely infuriated with him. But what did that mean? Did she snub him, or did she give him the silent treatment? Mai had a feeling neither one would work. After all, her young employer did live with Lin-san, who was actually rather good at both.

Mai sighed. Her eyes shot to the window outside and she blinked in surprise as she realised that the sun was now rising. Had Mai been here for that long? She hadn't even realised. There was a slight, polite knock on the door and Mai looked over to see Rita-san standing there, her eyes red and tired. Clearly, the woman hadn't been sleeping well last night. No one could blame her though, really. After all, she'd only just lost her husband in this ordeal.

Now, Mai was unsure about what she should say to the other woman. After all, Mai was meant to be a suspect for the murder, and Mizuki-san's body had been found in her room. What was she supposed to say to his wife now?

Rita-san, however, didn't seem to mind. Instead, the woman moved to sit down Mai, her face filled with a strange serenity that Mai hadn't known was possible.

"It's been quite the night, hasn't it?"

Mai didn't know what to say, but at the same time, she couldn't stand the silence. "I'm sorry for your loss, Rita-san. It must be difficult for you at the moment."

"Not really, Taniyama-san. My husband has moved onto a better place, in my opinion."

Mai blinked. Not many achieved that kind of tranquillity and acceptance, and even less people could have managed it in so little time. Rita-san seemed so incredibly accepting that it was almost unnerving. It was as though she'd given this much thought in the past and this was the answer she'd come up with.

And now, Mai barely knew what to say to her. "I guess the three children are going to have to adjust to this all. I mean, it's not easy losing a parent." Mai would know. After all, she'd lost both of hers.

"Two," Rita-san stated, which now caused Mai to frown.

"Two, what?" Mai asked, slightly oblivious to what the woman was saying. Had the lost of her husband finally hit in, causing her to now lose her mind.

Rita-san smiled politely, but quizzically at Mai. "Two children, Taniyama-san. I only have two children."

* * *

Mai paced the room restlessly, her mind whizzing from the information she'd just received. Less than half an hour after she'd briefed her conversation with Rita-san, Mai had bolted to base,

"According to Rita-san, Yukito-chan's not her child. She's only had a boy and a girl; she had no idea who the last child was when I told her. Yukito-chan's name is the only one she did not recognise, which tells us that he's not actually her son. He keeps appearing in my dreams too, so he's probably a ghost, I think." After all, she hadn't been able to tell that Hiroma sensei was a ghost. Was it really surprising that Mai couldn't see it now? There was definitely a difference, though, since Yukito-chan could be seen by the children too, and he was willing to appear in front of other psychics. He'd said that he needed a witch, once, which told Mai that he probably thought Mai could get him close to Ayami. Hadn't the little boy said that Ayami was hard to deal with?

More than satisfied with her conclusion, and a little impressed that she'd thought of that on her own, Mai turned over to her audience, who was calmly sipping her tea.

The fact that Ayami was so indifferent about it all made Mai just a little bit crestfallen.

"Sweetheart, that's great," Ayami drawled, "but why are you telling me? Why aren't you telling Davis?"

Mai stopped. She didn't want to tell Ayami about her problem with Naru, but then, she probably didn't have to. Everyone probably knew about their current disagreement.

"You're still not talking to him, are you?" Her cousin's eyes narrowed and Mai could literally see the thoughts connect in the other girl's mind. Suddenly, Mai could very much believe that Ayami was psychic. "What else did you say to him when the two of you were stuck in that room?"

Horrifyingly enough, Mai's mind swam back to the time the two of them had been stuck at the police station together.

_You don't care about me the way I care about you._

She couldn't believe she'd said that. Mai could not believe that she had said that, and to Naru, no less. What on Earth had she been thinking? What could have motivated her to say such an appalling thing? It didn't matter if it was true or not - and, admittedly, it was probably true – it was the fact that she'd _said _it that had shocked her.

And Naru too, of all people.

Mai turned over to Ayami, who had merely cocked an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? That wasn't the best time for a confession, Mai."

Oh, god. Now Ayami knew too.

"It wasn't a confession," Mai said hotly as her cheeks flamed. How psychic was Ayami, anyway, to be able to read Mai's thoughts like that?

Ayami snorted inelegantly. "Quite psychic; I just normally tune out of people's thoughts. Sometimes, I will tune in when the topic seems interesting enough, my dear. And besides, it was a confession, because at the rate the two of you are going, I think that's about as close to a declaration as we're going to get. I feel sorry for any viewers of this film; our main protagonists are forever unexciting."

"Could you be serious, just for a minute?" Mai asked, though deep down, she was praying to God that Ayami would forget this conversation.

Her cousin shrugged, though now, a teasing smile pressed her lips. "You're the one that wanted my opinion," Ayami pointed out.

"Not for this!" Mai half-shouted in exasperation. Ayami burst out laughing, clearly amused by Mai's predicament.

"Oh, calm down," Ayami advised, her eyes twinkling after she'd regained her composure. "I'm just teasing you, Mai." Then, her eyes sobered a little and Ayami leant forward. Suddenly, Mai was realised that she was now with the Ayami she'd first met, not Ayami, the First Lady of the Caecilius Clan, and she couldn't help but be warmed by it.

"But on a more serious note, when do _you _think he's going to confess?"

"Ayami!"

"No, seriously; think about it. You've known the guy for how many years, and I've looked at his employment history. He might pay well, but none of his other secretaries besides Lin would stay that long. Whilst I think that it was probably for the sake of their healthy hearts that they left early – your employer is a real bore, you know – I'm thinking there had to be a few hires-and-fires in the process. Now, you've got the history for the longest employment, and from what I, a renowned psychic and woman, have gathered, he does genuinely care for you. What do you think about that?"

"I don't sit there thinking about things like that," Mai told her, though she couldn't help but be more than a little pleased at what Ayami said. Ayami thought that Naru cared for her? Wow. Then, Mai remembered that she was supposed to be annoyed at him and the thought dimmed in weighting, just a little.

Ayami, who'd probably read her thoughts again, rolled her eyes and Mai made a mental note to learn to conceal her thoughts. If the people on T.V could do it, then so could Mai.

"Not unless you're trained for it," Ayami replied, now taking a deep sip of her tea. For her cousin, that kind of beverage was incredibly tame, which definitely made Mai wonder.

"I don't think I could stomach alcohol at the moment," Ayami told her. "It might make me pass out, since I haven't eaten yet."

Mai frowned, now turning to cast a brief look at the clock: 1.04PM. Mai had seen her cousin have alcohol for breakfast; what was she on about?

"—Davis is, mind you, a bit of an ass, but he's an incredibly talented person. Had he been trained like me, since birth, his active powers would outmatch mine considerably. And I guess those brains make up for his inane personality."

If any word could be used to describe Naru, it definitely wouldn't have been _inane_.

"I have no idea why you work for this utterly fine specimen. Then again, he must have fine points that I don't understand if everyone is so willing to be loyal to him, including you."

"Do you know anyone who pays better then?" Mai asked jokingly. "Maybe I can go find employment with them instead."

"There is me."

Mai half snorted. Her cousin lived on another continent. It wasn't as though Mai could work for her, even if Ayami was looking for employees.

Ayami noticed her doubt, because her cousin smiled. "I'm not joking. You're my cousin; you don't have to work if you don't want to. I have already started an account under your name and I've been transferring your funds over to it. I've shifted the amount your mother left behind and I've added it to your account, since it was technically yours to begin with. There's also a trust fund set aside for you for when you turn twenty-one years old. You're a blueblood, Mai, and you're the only member of the Caecilius Clan left, other than me. And we, as members of the Caecilius Clan, do live quite well."

Mai didn't quite get it. Ayami had told Mai this before, but it all hadn't really clicked as well. Why bother telling Mai again now? It wasn't as though it would have changed anything.

Ayami smiled. "I'm offering you a way out. If you ever feel stranded or hopeless, know that you can always join me in Australia. If not, I can provide you passage to anywhere you want to go, whether it is America or Europe. You're not stranded, Mai, and don't ever feel that way. I have connections all over the world, and as my heiress, I guess you do too."

Her mind numbed and Mai couldn't quite figure out what it was that Ayami was implying. "Your heiress?" Mai repeated. Mai frowned, remembering back to what her cousin had said the previous night. Ayami had said that she had a sister that she had driven out of the clan. Wouldn't Ayami's sister – and Mai's other cousin – be the heiress then, and not Mail?

Mai voiced her question, which was responded with as shrug.

"She's illegitimate; she couldn't inherit, even if she wanted to. So until I bear a daughter, you, Mai, are the designated successor of the Caecilius Clan. You're my heiress whether you want to be or not."

Now, Mai was beginning to understand a little more. An heiress; that meant that she was Ayami's succeeder. And Ayami was rumoured to hold incredible wealth, if Detective Kaito could be believed, and an influential place in society.

A while back, Mai hadn't even had a family left, and she'd had to scramble every penny. Now, she was suddenly the heiress to a multi-billionaire's fortunes.

If that wasn't strange, Mai didn't know what was.

"How many zeroes do you need in your account to be a billionaire?" Mai asked.

Ayami shrugged. "Enough. Besides, I don't deal with my own assets; I leave that to my advisees. I only handle a few of the businesses right now."

Delegating all to the advisees seemed incredibly irresponsible. Then again, it wasn't as though business finances were meant to be Ayami's speciality. She was a psychic, after all. But then wouldn't she leave that for her other relatives to deal with, rather than relying on advisees?

But then what about her dad?

It was strange though, because Ayami had never mentioned any of her male relatives. Did she have any? She might not have had a brother, but Mai was quite sure Ayami would have had a father. Then, Mai gasped, realising that Ayami could read her mind.

Ayami laughed. "Don't be so alarmed. I wouldn't mind if you asked, and if I hadn't wanted to answer, I just wouldn't have. My father passed away when I was a child; I have no brothers. It wouldn't have mattered if a male was born into the family anyway, as he couldn't touch anything that related to that of Vesta. The Caecilius Clan, by tradition, is filled with women and women only." Her cousin shrugged. "It's because men are weak," Ayami added unnecessarily.

If that wasn't sexist, Mai didn't know what was.

* * *

In the end, it couldn't be avoided. Mai had eventually stepped into the office, her mind made up, though deep down, she prayed that Naru wouldn't be in. Of course, with luck like Mai's, not only had Naru been in, but the rest of SPR had been there too. Mai had told them everything that she'd discovered, carefully avoiding Naru's eyes as she spoke. She spoke of the child, the dream, and even the warning about the witch. Mai carefully left out that Yukito-chan had taken Mai to a room where both Naru and Ayami had been sitting, but then she had a feeling that Naru had known about that anyway. At the end of it all, Mai took a deep breath, then blinked when she realised that everyone was watching her in the oddest manner.

Bou-san, on top of it all, seemed rather impressed for some apparent reason. "Mai-chan's definitely getting more powerful if she saw all of that and figured all of that out on her own."

Mai frowned. There was something about his tone of voice that told her he wasn't at all surprised by what she had said. "You knew this already?" Mai asked.

"Actually, Naru had it all figured out awhile ago, Mai. You were just so out of it that you didn't know."

Mai blinked. Naru had known all of this already? The rest of SPR obviously knew about it too. This was the first time that Mai had been so out of it during a case. Clearly, she had been letting her personal life interfere when she shouldn't have.

Naru looked up from his file, though Mai had a feeling that he hadn't actually been reading it at all. "Yukito-chan's beliefs were quite clear. He thinks that he needs a witch to resurrect his mother, who he claims died ten years ago. There are no records of what happened to the woman after her son passed away on Arai Mountain, though, however we have discovered that the woman was a follower of the dark arts. Apparently after her son died, she went overseas. There's been no sign of her since. Her son, it seems, targets some of the tourists that visit this mountain so that they can be company for him instead."

That would explain all the voices that Mai had heard in that mirror once. Mai shuddered, realising how close she had been to joining them.

"Wouldn't this all be much easier if we just summoned Yukito-chan and helped him move on?" Mai asked.

Bou-san shrugged. "We've all tried, but it doesn't seem to be working. Every time we get close to his spirit, it recedes and we're left with nothing." Bou-san sighed. "We can't leave it be like this though. At this rate, he's going to eventually kill of everyone around this mountain unless they leave. If all else fails, we're going to have to purge his spirit."

Destroy the spirit? Mai snuck a look at Masako, who had fallen strangely quiet during this entire conversation. The psychic had always seen spirits as people, which meant that she wouldn't have condoned to this kind of action. On the second case that Mai had ever worked, Mai could still remember that there had been a woman trapped in a house, unable to move on because her daughter had been taken away from her. At that time, Naru had managed to create a paper effigy of a spirit's child, allowing the woman to pass on into the next realm. If, this time, it was the son looking for his mother, wouldn't it just be brighter to imitate the action?

Mai voiced her question vocally, though she did feel like a bit of an idiot. Someone was bound to have asked the question before already and she'd probably not been there to hear it.

Thankfully, it wasn't Naru who answered, but it was Ayako instead.

"Well, in this case, the woman isn't dead yet, so it's not as though we could try that. Besides, Naru couldn't find any information about this woman."

That definitely was odd. Mai had never known Naru to fail in finding information about _anything_.

"I can ask Ayami—" Mai cut herself off when she realised what she was saying. If Ayami had wanted to help them, she would have interfered already. Unless something out there changed her cousin's mind, Mai doubted she could sway her opinion.

Ayako nodded dryly. "I doubt the princess would help," the miko-san said unnecessarily.

Mai didn't even bother arguing with that one. Especially when she knew that it was true. What was the point of being a genius when you helped no one but yourself? Then again, Mai guessed Naru was like that too; he only ever took on cases that interested him, leaving the other cases for just about anybody else. Perhaps all geniuses were like that; it wasn't as though Mai knew many of them to judge, anyway.

Mai's thoughts drifted for a moment before she broke out of her reverie. Then, she realised that the others were now discussing the case again. Mai really shouldn't zone out of this, especially since she'd been so out of it throughout this entire case.

It was, of course, Bou-san who was talking. "They keep saying that there are five rooms in this house that are haunted, yet every time we go to those rooms, we don't sense anything."

"I, too, have visited the rooms and although I can tell that the spirits have been there recently, I can't see them at that moment," Masako said softly. "It's as though they like to avoid us and I don't understand why or how."

"They're moving to another room when you enter that room," Ayako pointed out. "Not exactly rocket-science."

Masako shook her head, though the younger girl did manage a withering glare at Ayako, despite the circumstance. Some things really didn't change. "It's always the same five rooms that they move between, though," Masako said. "It's as though something is binding them to those rooms only. They never try to go anywhere else."

Mai frowned, not quite understanding what the dilemma was. "Couldn't we split up and all wait in one of the five rooms then?"

"Not enough people for us to do that," Bou-san pointed out. "It's dangerous for us to be alone at the moment, and even if we were to go in the rooms, we don't know what we're facing."

Ayako cried out in exasperation. "I want to head back to civilisation soon! On these mountains, there's only snow and I feel like we're working an impossible case. This would be so much easier if we could just lure the little boy to us and trap him here."

Then, Naru looked up, and Mai's heart almost stilled. He'd been so silent throughout this entire conversation. Normally, Naru wasn't one to waste words, but still, when he didn't say anything at all – or try to insult Mai – then it definitely did say something.

Then, her employer smirked, and Mai almost rolled her eyes. And to think that just a moment ago, she'd been slightly worried.

"That's not impossible. If they want a witch to use, we'll give them one."

* * *

**10th February, 2009:** Yay! Another chapter for me! I am so glad that this case is ending soon. I am so sick of it. This was the only case that I really started whilst having no idea how it was to go. I humbly promise myself to plan ahead next time. Anyway, Eternus received a much warmer welcome than I anticipated. I didn't think anyone would want to read it because it was a bit dark and depressing (not exactly the place you wanna go for a happy hunt) but strangely enough, I've actually got readers for that story. Anyway, point being: Eternus will be updated on Single's Awareness Day. I myself will be giving flowers out to all those I know that are single, and then having dinner with one of my best friends. Then, we plan to go honking at cars parked by the road at Mt Coot-tha, which is kinda the stereotypical place you take someone when you want to view the glamorous nights, yada yada yada, and then get into the back seat. Very typical place for dates, if you get what I mean. Any other fellow Brisbane teens to young adults would get where I'm coming from ;)

**Many thanks to: Moons-chan, SimplyChristine, Gabryell-P, ONIX-21, azuyama-chan, canadianviolet** (Oh yes; I definitely have plans for Mai and her powers. Don't you worry about that one. Her powers are still developing though, and it's not like she's trying to develop or control them (much to Ayami's dismay) so we still have to see how that goes before we actually discuss any of her powers. And yes, writing Ayami does tend to be a little bit of a challenge because she's such a contrary character. She's got a lot of faces, but her true one - the one we're seeing right now - marks her as such a bitch. It's like she doesn't want to get along with people. You should see her in Eternus; in a world where her word is law, she's even worse. But yeah, writing her story can be pretty interesting. In Eternus too, you get to read her POV later on.), **Aoi Faith, -Skyz-Angels-, syNemYoA, Anonymous** (thanks! LOL I'll try my best to update, though I don't think I'll make any promises, lol), **miss koneko, sinmay, LucyMint, CagedHeart, Nayami-Chan, emmarinez25, bloodyrose1294, heavenslilagl240, lana **(LOL I'm really surprised that you like this story so much. I've always had the impression that Mirror was really slow compared to the other two. I am really glad you like it though; your review really did motivate me to finish the chapter (I only had about a paragraph to go and I was being lazy about it). Naru and Mai are also my favourites. I do wish Naru would be a bit more expressive though. It's so bloody hard to write about him. You have to make sure that you drop the subtle hints here and there, if not, it would look really bizarre when he actually starts caring. Damn you, Naru. Damn you.;) ), and **sousie.**

**Thank you for reading.  
**


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